Nikki's Story
by Nikki-chan
Summary: Basically, my character, Nikki, ends up being sucked into an ancient book along with Miaka. I've decided to keep much of the same storyline.
1. Default Chapter

*Author's note: Okay, just to warn you, this is VERY long. Nikki, if you haven't clued in yet, is ME, so I take full responsibility for her actions. Just to clarify, when Miaka and Yui end up in the book world, by the power of Suzaku, Nikki arrives AFTER. This contains major spoilers, so beware. Enjoy!!!  
It was a sunny day. Too sunny. And hot. Nikki ran a hand through her short, blonde hair. She thought to herself, `Geez! If I don't cool off somewhere, I'll melt!' She unzipped her jacket, adjusted her backpack and kept walking.  
After a moment, she stopped. She had been so lost in her thoughts, she hadn't noticed that the National Library was just ahead. They had air conditioning there, right? It would at least give her a place to rest for a while. She ran up the steps, two at a time.  
She walked inside and felt the refreshing blast of cold air. She looked around. There was only a few people inside. She saw a vending machine off to her right.  
Almost on cue, her stomach started growling. `How long has it been since I ate?' she thought. `Well, I guess I could spare a coin or two,' She searched through her bag for some change. Finally, she found a few coins, punched in the code, and her candy bar dropped.  
As she bent down to pick it up, she heard a noise over her shoulder. She turned around, but no-one was there. The noise seemed to have come from upstairs. She quickly pocketed the chocolate and ran up the stairwell behind her. She followed the sound down a dark hallway. It sounded like two girls talking. The voices were coming from a room marked `Reference Documents'. "What kind of person would be in here?" she whispered, "It's just a dark, musty room full of boring, dusty old books that nobody's seen in four hundred years." Overcome by curiosity, she opened the door.  
She nearly tripped over the two girls sitting on the other side. They looked to be about fifteen, and wore the same junior-high uniforms. One girl had long brown hair tied up in two buns at the sides of her head, the other looked stunningly like Nikki. She had the same short blonde hair, blue eyes, and a round face. The two girls were reading an old Chinese book of some sort. Nikki stood frozen to the spot. A bright, red light was coming from the book and surrounded them. Stunned, Nikki could do nothing but stand there as the light closed in around her. She couldn't move. Then everything went black.  
When Nikki woke up, it was light. She opened her eyes, but was almost blinded by the bright sunlight. Sunlight? `How did I get outside?' she wondered.  
She rolled onto her side, but was jolted by the sharp pain in her right shoulder. She cried out and quickly sat up.  
She opened her eyes again, and looked around. She was surrounded by nothingness. No sign of the two girls, or the Library. No sign of anything.  
Nikki quickly thought to herself, `Am I dead?' She touched her shoulder. `Ow! No way, it hurts too much for me to be dead. So, if I'm not dead, then where am I?' She looked around. There was nothing, absolutely nothing, for as far as she could see.  
Clutching her shoulder, Nikki slowly got to her feet. Wherever she was, she had landed on a sharp rock. Her shoulder was throbbing. She could feel something warm and sticky on the back of her arm. She pulled her hand away. It was covered in blood.  
"Great," she muttered, "That's just what I needed. Not only am I lost without food or water, but now I'm going to bleed to death. Well, I might as well die happy," She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out the candy bar. She stared at it for a moment, and then put it back into her pocket.  
"Fine," she said, " So maybe I'm not going to bleed to death. Who cares? I'll never find my way out of here. I don't even know where `here' is." She looked around again for a sign of where she might be. Still nothing.  
Nikki looked down to where her backpack was lying on the ground beside her. She bent down and gingerly put it on. "Ok," she said, "Think, Nikki, think. You're lost. What's the first thing you do? Look for a road. There's got to be a road around here somewhere,"  
She scanned the horizon, but could see no sign of any roads. She saw no sign of civilization anywhere. "Well, we'll just have to find a road." She set off, walking in the direction she hoped would lead her somewhere.  
Nikki had no idea how long she'd been walking, but she seemed to have made no progress at all. She couldn't see any sign of civilization, and she still had no idea of where she was or how she got there.  
She thought to herself, `I wonder what happened to those two girls. Maybe they're here, too. But I haven't seen them anywhere. What was that light coming out of that old book? Maybe that's how I'm here. It had to have been something supernatural, like a spell of some kind. Or maybe I was abducted by aliens. Or maybe...'  
Nikki stopped. Up ahead, she could see something on the horizon. It was too far away to see clearly, and she was already dizzy from dehydration, but it looked like a mountain. And a forest. And where there were trees, there had to be water. Nikki set off again, more determined. Finally, she had a definite direction to go in. She kept walking, even though she was exhausted. She urged herself on. "Come on, Nikki! You can't give up now! You can make it. Oh, who am I kidding."  
She sat down on a nearby rock and carefully took off her jacket. She rolled it up and shoved it into her bag. She peered over her shoulder to see how bad the damage was. The back of her white T-shirt was stained red with blood. She ripped a strip off the bottom of her shirt and wrapped it around the wound to try and keep it clean and stop the bleeding.  
She shielded her eyes from the glare of the sun and peered off into the distance. The mountain seemed no closer than it was before. She yelled out in frustration.  
"At this rate I'll never get anywhere! I could have been enjoying the nice, air-conditioned Library right now, but no, I had to get lost in the middle of nowhere! If it weren't for that weird light coming out of that stupid book, I...wait a minute. Maybe I'm actually IN the book, like the light sucked me in or something. No. That sounds too crazy. I must be hallucinating or something. This heat's going to my head."  
She lay down on the rock, put her bag under her head, and fell asleep.  
  
  



	2. Chapter Two

It was night when Nikki finally woke up. Her stomach felt like it was tied into knots, and she was freezing. She took her jacket out of her bag, put it on, and grabbed the chocolate bar in her pocket.  
She unwrapped it and ate it slowly. It was the only food she had with her, and she wanted it to last. She ate only half, wrapped up the rest, and put it back in her pocket. `That's all for now,' she thought. `Save the rest for later.'  
She put her backpack on, and set off. The mountain was dead ahead, dimly lit by the full moon overhead. Despite the moonlight, it was still very dark. Nikki began to feel uneasy. She began to jog, humming to herself.  
She looked up, and stopped. The stars were so bright, and there were so many of them. Growing up in the city, she wasn't used to the sky being so clear. Here, there were no buildings in the way, no electric lights.  
Maybe that's what disturbed her the most. There seemed to be no cities anywhere.  
She continued jogging, trying not to think about anything but keeping her legs moving. After only a few minutes, she could feel her sides start to cramp up. She stopped to rest. "I knew I should have spent more time on the treadmill," she groaned. She sat down to rest.  
The mountain looked closer now. She felt more energy, knowing her goal was so close. She stood, stretched, and started walking. She walked the rest of the night, not letting herself rest for more than a few minutes at a time, for fear that she would fall asleep again.  
By morning, she could see the mountain clearly. It was surrounded by a thick forest. Nikki figured that she could be there after about another few hour's walk. She walked even faster.  
As the day wore on, the sun seemed to get hotter and hotter. There was no shade to rest in, and no water to drink. Nikki started to wonder if she would reach the mountain, after all.  
  
Nikki sat down to eat the last of her chocolate bar. She knew she had to reach the mountain soon, or else she might not make it at all.  
Slowly, she made it to her feet. Her shoulder was still very sore, but she tried not to concentrate on the pain. She set off.  
Every muscle in her body ached, but she kept pushing herself. Finally, in the late afternoon, she could see the forest just up ahead. She tried to move faster, but her legs felt like jelly. She stumbled along, trying not to fall.  
Nikki made her way to the trees, and slipped into the cool shade. She leaned against a tree trunk for support before looking around.  
There was nothing but trees. She moved deeper into the forest. She thought she heard something, but couldn't quite figure out what it was. The deeper she went, the louder the noise was.  
`It has to be coming from up ahead,' she thought, `Where have I heard that before?' She stopped to think. It took her a moment to realize, "Duh! It sounds like a stream or something. Water!" She pushed her way into a clearing.  
Running through it was a tiny stream. She bent down and took a long drink of the cool water. She scooped some up and splashed it on her face, then looked around.  
There were a few berries on a bush across the clearing, but not enough to make a really good meal. There seemed to be no other food nearby, so Nikki made her way over to the bush and ate.  
She quickly polished off the berries. They were sweet and juicy, but there weren't many of them. She was still starving. She wondered if she could find the mountain through all these trees.  
Suddenly, a stick cracked behind her. She spun around. She could hear someone walking towards the clearing. Unsure of what to do, she started inching towards the trees. Suddenly, two large men burst into the clearing. Nikki wasn't sure what they were after, but she wasn't going to stay long enough to find out. She leapt to her feet and ran as fast as she could, which after walking so long, wasn't very fast. She wove in and out of the trees, with no idea of where she was going. She could hear the two men yell, and then take off after her. They were closing in.  
Nikki tripped over an exposed root. She caught herself, and was quickly on her feet again. But the heat, exertion and lack of food finally caught up with her. The forest started spinning, and then everything went black. Her legs finally gave out, and she collapsed.  
  
It hurt. It hurt all over. Nikki opened her eyes. Her head was spinning, and she could feel a lump growing on her forehead. She must have hit her head when she fell.  
As her eyes slowly came into focus, she realized she was in a dimly lit room. It was obviously night. She tried to sit up, but her hands were bound behind her. She struggled to loosen the knot, but she couldn't.  
A male voice sounded above her. "So, you're awake now. You've been out for days." An attractive young man with blue hair and a scar across his left cheek emerged from the shadows.  
Nikki struggled to sit up, but her shoulder would not support her. "Wha...what do you want?" she asked weakly.  
He leaned down close to her face. "I want you!" he whispered.  
Nikki closed her eyes. Whatever this guy was going to do, she didn't want to see it.  
Suddenly, he burst out laughing. Nikki opened her eyes and glared at him. "You think I was serious?" he said. "Get real.  
I was just joking. My name's Koji. Are you hungry or what?" Nikki looked around. There was a plate of food on the ground beside her. She stared blankly at it.  
"Oh, right," said Koji. "Sorry. Just had to make sure you wouldn't try to kill us or anything." He untied her hands. "You won't, right?" he asked. She sat up and rubbed her wrists. "Yes," Nikki replied, "That's exactly what I'm going to do. I'll take on every guy in this whole place by myself, bare-handed. That sounds like fun."  
Koji laughed. "You sound like Genrou," he said, "Only, he probably would try something like that. Anyways, you're too weak right now to try anything. Eat."  
Nikki didn't like the fact that this Koji person knew how weak she was, but for some reason, she found herself trusting him. She ate the food he gave her, only half wondering if it was poisoned. `No,' she thought to herself, `If he had wanted to kill me, he could have done it already.'  
When she finished, she asked Koji for something to drink. "What," he asked, "Like water?"  
Nikki thought for a moment. "Got anything with a little more...substance to it?" she asked.  
Koji nodded. "Follow me."  
  
Koji led Nikki down a dark hallway. Though she was feeling a bit stronger, she had trouble keeping up with him.  
"Need help?" he asked over his shoulder.  
"No. I can make it just fine on my own." she said, only half believing it. She wouldn't show anybody, least of all some guy she just met, how weak she was. She wouldn't let anybody get the better of her.  
Koji stopped in front of a large door. He knocked. "Hello?" he said. Without waiting for a response, he proceeded to invite himself in. "Who's there? It's me, Koji. Can I come in?  
You're welcome. Thank you." He opened the door and walked through.  
Nikki followed, thinking to herself, `Great. First, I'm lost in the middle of nowhere with no food or water. Then, I'm chased by two guys through the forest. Now, I've been kidnapped by the village idiot! My life could not possibly get any worse.'  
Nikki stood in the middle of a large room with a couple of tables. Sitting at the tables were a few dozen large, ugly men, much like the two that were chasing her earlier. All eyes were on her. A few of the men were looking her up and down. `Well,' she thought, `I stand corrected.' Koji grabbed her by the arm and pulled her after him. They disappeared behind a curtain at the far side of the room.  
Behind the curtain was a small room, more like a closet, with a couple of chests in one corner. Koji opened one of the chests and took out a small flask. He tossed it to Nikki.  
"I hope you can handle it," he said, "That there's enough to get eight of these guys drunk. This stuff's pretty strong. I've..."  
He stopped and stared in disbelief. Nikki was polishing off the last of the flask's contents. She wiped her mouth on the back of her hand and tossed the empty container back to Koji.  
"Yeah, that stuff's ok. Got any more?" she asked.  
Koji stared at Nikki, then the empty flask, then back at Nikki. "You...drank...all of it?!" Koji stammered, "And you're still standing?! What kind of girl are you?"  
  
Back in the room she woke up in, Nikki was explaining her situation to Koji, who was having a hard time getting it all. "Well," Nikki said, "I was in the Library when I found these two girls reading a book. A bright light came out of the book, and when I came to, I was stranded in the middle of nowhere. I had nothing to drink, and I only had one chocolate bar to eat, and my shoulder was hurting. I had to walk for about two days just to find water, and then two of your guys jumped me. I fell, hit my head, and woke up here. Where am I, anyways?" she asked.  
"Mt. Leikaku, in the Bandit's stronghold." Koji answered. He stared at her for a moment. "I've just got two questions," he said, "What's a Library, and what is a chocolate bar?"  
Nikki looked at him for a moment. "What," she said, "You've never heard of a chocolate bar?! You know, Hershey, Caramilk, Mars..."  
Koji stared blankly at her.  
"Ok, moving on then. I'd like to get home as soon as possible, but I have no idea where home is from here."  
"Well, where are you from?" asked Koji.  
Nikki answered, "I'm from Los Angeles, California, but right now I'm living in Tokyo." Which was not a complete lie.  
"Where's that? I've never heard of those places. Maybe you hit your head harder than you thought." Koji said.  
"Tokyo is in Japan," Nikki replied, "and my head's just fine. I just want to go home!"  
"I have no idea where it is you're from," said Koji, "But we can figure this out in the morning. This is my room, but you can sleep here tonight. I'll make sure you're not disturbed. Is there anything else you'd like?"  
"Yeah," Nikki replied, "My bag. Where is it?"  
"Um...I put it away...for safe keeping. I'll go get it. Stay here. I'll be right back." Koji left the room, closing the door behind him.  
`Well, gee, where else am I supposed to go?' Nikki thought. She got up from where she had been sitting on the floor and crossed the room towards the bed. It was little more than a stack of pillows, but it would be the most comfortable thing she'd slept on for a long time.  
She walked around the bed to the sliding door that exited onto a balcony overlooking the mountain, and the forest below. `This is getting weirder by the minute,' she thought, `But in a way, it's kind of starting to make sense. Wherever I am, the people here have never heard of chocolate or Libraries, and they dress way weird. I mean, Koji's fashion is totally out-of-date. And they've never heard of Japan or California? It's like I've gone back in time or something.'  
She stood on the balcony a moment longer, before heading back inside.  



	3. Chapter Three

A moment later, there was a knock on the door, followed by "Hello? Who's there? It's me, Koji. Can I come in? You're welcome. Thank you." Koji opened the door and stepped in. He crossed the room, gave her the backpack, turned around and left. After he had closed the door again, Nikki called out, "And good-night to you, too! People are so rude these days." Somehow, she sensed that something wasn't right, but she pushed it away, and crawled into bed. She knew she probably wouldn't get to sleep that night, at least not with so many strange men around, so she let her mind wander.  
She thought back on all of the past few days, and went over the events again and again in her mind, trying to piece together what happened and where she was. The only possibilities she could think of were either she'd somehow ended up in some extremely isolated area, or she was actually in the book those girls were reading. Neither option sounded rational, but Nikki wasn't really one to rationalize things. Without meaning to, she fell asleep.  
She was awakened the next morning by a knock on the door. "Hello? Who's there? It's me, Koji. Can I come in? You're welcome. Thank you." Koji entered, carrying a large bowl of rice. "I figured you might be hungry," he said, "So I brought you some breakfast. Eat up!"  
Nikki slowly crawled out of bed and rubbed her eyes. Koji had set the bowl on a small table in the corner, and was sitting on the floor beside it. Nikki joined him, and began to eat.  
After a few mouthfuls of rice, she looked up to find Koji staring at her. She swallowed. "Got a problem?" she asked.  
"No," Koji said, "It's just that, well, you've got blue eyes...and yellow hair. I've never seen anyone like that except the Hin. And, well, let's just say they're not liked much around here. Besides, most of them have been wiped out. I guess, what I'm trying to say is..."  
"What you're trying to say," Nikki yelled, "Is that just because I'm a blonde, you don't like me. Is that it?" "Well..I..uh," Koji stammered, "Not me personally, but, yeah. I guess."  
  
Nikki leaped to her feet, overturning the table and spilling rice everywhere. She stormed over to the bed and picked up her bag. She turned around and was about to open the door, when Koji grabbed her by the arm and nearly knocked her off her feet. "Where do you think you're going?" he asked.  
Nikki lowered her gaze and spoke quietly. "Anywhere but here. Now please let me go."  
Koji could tell she was furious, yet she tried to hide it. He smiled to himself. "Alright," he said. He let go of her arm. "You win. You can go. But, tell me this: how are you going to find food? You can't pay, since you don't have any money. How are you going to protect yourself from the other bandits? You have no weapons. How can you possibly survive out there on your own? Face it. You can't leave. You need me."  
"I don't need anyone," Nikki replied, "Especially not you!" Koji could hear uncertainty in her voice now. He couldn't understand why, but he felt sorry for this girl. He felt he had to protect her. He gently cupped his hand under her chin and tilted her head back so that she was forced to look at him. "Listen," he said gently, "A girl like you wouldn't last five minutes out there alone. Now, I don't like this situation any more than you do, but you've got no choice but to stay here. It's for your own good."  
Nikki just stood there. She knew she should pull away, get as far away from this place as possible, but for some reason, she couldn't. Neither one of them moved.  
Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the door. Koji pushed Nikki away from him just as a large man burst in.  
"Sorry for intruding," the man said, "But I have important news." He whispered something in Koji's ear, then turned and ran out of the room.  
"What is it? What's wrong?" asked Nikki.  
"Don't worry about it. Just lock the door behind me and don't let anybody in. You'll be alright in here." Koji said. `Wow, that makes me feel so much better,' Nikki thought. Koji turned to shut the door behind him, but Nikki stopped it with her foot.  
"Hey, Koji," she said, "Why do you want me to stay so badly; for my sake, or yours?"  
Koji didn't answer. He didn't even look back.  
Nikki shut the door and locked it. She leaned her back against the door frame, smiled, and shook her head.  
  
Nikki spent most of the day pacing the room. She straightened the bed, righted the overturned table, and cleaned up the spilled rice. She tried to convince herself she wasn't worried about Koji, but she couldn't help it. She was way worried.  
Koji finally returned, with the evening meal. Again, it was rice. They sat down and ate in silence. Finally, Nikki couldn't take it any more.  
"What happened?" she asked. "Where were you all day?" Koji finished his bowl of rice before he answered.  
"One of my men said they saw Genrou earlier today. I went to find out if it was true. If so, I don't think Eikan would be too happy."  
"Who is this Genrou?" Nikki asked. "And why wouldn't Eikan be too happy about him being here?"  
"Because," Koji sighed, "Genrou is the rightful leader of these Bandits. Eikan took over while he was away."  
Koji leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms before continuing. "So, if Genrou's back, that puts Eikan down with the rest of us. Eikan won't go down without a fight, though. So I want to get to Genrou first and warn him."  
Nikki stared off into space. "Oh," she said, "Okay then." She got up and cleared the table.  
Koji watched her walk away, then looked at his hands, which were folded on the table in front of him. "Um...I...uh," he stammered. He stood up.  
Nikki turned around to face him. "What?" she asked.  
"Want a drink?" he finished.  
Nikki grinned. "I've never turned one down, and I don't think I'll be starting now!"  
Koji left, and returned a moment later with a large chest. He placed it in the corner, opened it and took out a small flask of sake. "Don't finish it too fast this time, this is all you get. There's four more flasks in here, and that's it."  
Nikki took a few sips, then replaced the stopper and placed the flask back in the chest. "Thanks, Koji. I think I'll go to bed now," Nikki said.  
"Yeah, sure." Koji said. He moved closer. "But first, take off your shirt."  
  
"What?!" Nikki screamed.  
"No," Koji said quickly, raising his hands in defense, "Not like that. I just want to look at your shoulder. Here," he handed her a blanket. "Wrap yourself in this."  
Nikki looked at him cautiously, then took the blanket and moved behind a wooden partition, out of view. She removed her shirt and bra, and flung them over the top of the partition.  
Koji's face turned bright red, and he turned his face away and whistled to himself. Nikki emerged, clutching the blanket to her chest. She sat down in front of Koji with her back to him.  
Koji carefully unwrapped the bandage from Nikki's shoulder. The wound looked pretty bad. He went over to the chest he'd just brought in, and removed a small jar of paste. He rubbed some paste on the wound.  
It smelled really bad, and it stung like daggers. Nikki bit her lip to keep from crying out. Koji got some fresh bandages and rewrapped the wound.  
Trying hard not to look at Nikki's exposed shoulders and back, Koji finished tying the bandage, and left the room as quickly as possible. Nikki got up and grabbed her shirt.  
It was filthy, and stained with blood. She threw it down, and got a clean one from her bag. It was baby blue, and showed more of her chest than she would like, but at least it was clean. She would have to do her laundry sometime soon. Wearing clothes until they were so worn out they fell off her wasn't exactly working.  
`Well,' she thought, `At least it goes with these black jeans...what am I thinking? I'm living out of my backpack, and I'm worried about being fashionable. I need a drink.'  
Not wanting to finish off the sake Koji gave her too quickly, she opened the door and stepped out into the hall. She heard loud voices coming from around a corner. She followed them and ended up in a large hall. Dozens of men sat around drinking and eating.  
The room went silent as soon as Nikki entered. A few men pointed and whispered. Nikki straightened her back and walked to a table in the back. She sat down in an empty chair and poured herself a drink.  
Conversation rose back to normal level in the room. Most of the men paid no attention to her, except the ones she sat with. They just stared at her. She took a sip of her drink.  
"Got a problem?" she growled. Each man shook his head and resumed conversation.  
  
Koji cursed to himself. He had come in to check on Nikki, but the room was empty. Her bag was still on the bed, so she couldn't have gotten very far. He looked up and down the hall. No sign of the girl.  
He couldn't stand the thought that he could have let anything happen to her. He took off down the hall, to see if anyone had seen her.  
He turned the corner into the large hall. He scanned the room, before spotting her at a back table. A large group of men had gathered around her.  
He pushed his way through the crowd. She was sitting at the table with a young man across from her. There was a bunch of empty shotglasses on the table between them.  
The boy looked like he was going to be sick, but Nikki appeared to be fine. They each raised another glass, and chugged it down.  
That was it for the boy, he fell out of his chair and landed flat on his face. Nikki laughed, and collected the money that the men had placed on the table.  
She looked up and saw Koji. Her smile faded.  
He looked at her sternly. The crowd went silent, and backed away. "So," Koji said, "Think you can take me?" The crowd cheered.  
"Alright," Nikki replied, "You're on." The men started placing bets. One brought a tray of glasses and a large jar of sake. He poured the drinks and stepped back. Nikki and Koji each raised a glass.  
Nikki raised hers, as if in a toast. "To your health," she said mockingly, "And my victory!" She tilted her glass back and swallowed.  
They continued for about eight more shots. Koji was starting to feel light-headed, and Nikki was feeling nauseous, though she hid it well. Neither one would give in.  
After another three shots, Koji couldn't take it anymore. "I quit." he said. The group of men cheered. Nikki collected more of her winnings.  
Koji slapped her on the back. "Well, you're the first person to beat me. Congratulations!"  
Nikki winced from Koji's hand hitting so close to her sore shoulder. "Yeah," she said, "Sure. Whatever," All of a sudden, the room seemed to be spinning more than usual, so Nikki decided to call it a night. She stumbled back to her room.  
  
  



	4. Chapter Four

Nikki woke up the next morning with a splitting headache. "Serves me right, after last night," she said to herself. She opened her eyes and waited for them to focus. Koji was passed out on the floor between the bed and the door.  
Nikki stumbled over to the basin in the corner and splashed water on her face. She looked at herself in the small mirror. She looked as bad as she felt. She ran a hand through her hair. She took her bag over to the bed and dumped out the contents. She sat down to go through it, and made a checklist in her head. Two pairs of pants, plus the ones she had on; five T-shirts; socks; underwear; and a sweatshirt. Everything needed to be washed. She shoved the rest of her belongings back in her bag.  
Koji moaned, and rolled over.  
"Get up," Nikki said, "I need to do some laundry."  
They ate breakfast silently, then Koji left Nikki to do her laundry. He was gone all morning, which didn't surprise Nikki, but returned shortly after lunch.  
"Listen," he said, "I've got a huge favour to ask you." "Uh, sure," Nikki said, "What is it?"  
"Put this on." he answered. He tossed her a small bundle. Inside was a beautiful silk kimono. Obviously, Nikki wasn't the first girl to stay with these Bandits.  
"That's it?" Nikki asked,raising an eyebrow, "You just want me to wear this. That's the favour?"  
Koji shifted uneasily. "Actually," he said, "I need you to entertain a few guys tonight. Nothing major, just serving drinks and all. I wouldn't ask you to do this, but there's no other girls here. It's just for tonight, I promise."  
Nikki regarded him carefully, looking for signs he may be lying. "Fine," she said slowly, "But just for tonight. So, what will I get out of this?"  
"You'll get to stay." Koji said simply. "I've got stuff to do, so I'll see you tonight."  
Nikki just stood there and watched him leave. "Next time I trust a guy," she said as she threw the kimono onto the bed, "I hope somebody will just shoot me."  
  
That night, Nikki stood in front of the mirror, admiring herself. She had to say, she looked good. The kimono was a bit tight, but it fit.  
She was just finishing her make-up when Koji came in. He stopped in his tracks when he saw her. "Whoa," he said, "Wow. Um, change of plans, we don't need you after all. We got some other girls to fill in. Unless you, uh, want to help...I mean, you're welcome to..."  
Nikki noticed that he was staring at her, so she decided to play it off for a while. She purposely dropped her lipstick.   
"Where did you get the girls from?" she asked as she made a show of bending over to pick it up. "You said there weren't any around here."  
"Uh, well," Koji was having difficulty finding words. "They were...in the forest. They, uh, volunteered their services for the night."  
Nikki was finding it hard not to burst out laughing at his awkwardness. She could always find a guy's weak spot. She stood right in front of Koji, so close that she could feel him breathing.  
She tried hard to act innocent. "I'd like to help," she said sweetly, "Just tell me what I have to do."  
Koji avoided eye contact and motioned for her to follow him. Nikki put her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing as she followed him down the hall. She really enjoyed watching him squirm.  
Koji opened the door to one of the larger rooms, and walked through. Inside, three young girls lay bound on the floor.   
"Volunteered, my ass!" Nikki growled. Koji just shrugged. Nikki moved past him towards the girls.  
One had long brown hair tied in a loose ponytail, and was dressed in fancy looking clothes. There was something about her that didn't seem right, but Nikki couldn't put a finger on what it was.  
Another had a long purple braid, and was quite pretty, Nikki had to say. She wasn't dressed as fancy as the other girl, but had pretty much the same fashion.  
The third girl wore a junior-high uniform which Nikki instantly recognized. "You!" she exclaimed. It had to be the dark-haired girl from the Library. But where was her friend?   
Nikki didn't have time to ask before Koji grabbed the girl and started dragging her down the hall.  
  
"Koji! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Nikki yelled as they walked down the hall. "Let her go! Do you hear me?"  
"Look," Koji said, "I've got orders. Now get out of the way."  
They stopped in front of Eikan's room. "You wouldn't," Nikki said.  
Koji opened the door and took the girl inside.  
"No!" Nikki yelled. "Koji, no!" Two men grabbed her arms and pulled her back. Nikki struggled to get away, but they were too strong.  
A minute later, Koji came back out. Nikki glared at him, then turned her face away. The two men let her go. Nikki could hear the girl cry out as she followed Koji back down the hall. "Koji, aren't you going to do anything? That poor girl..."   
"There's nothing I can do." Koji said.  
"Nothing you can do," Nikki whispered, "Or nothing you will do."  
Koji paused for a moment, then kept walking. Nikki watched him go. `I have to do something,' Nikki thought, `But what? I don't stand a chance against all these men. What can I do?'  
Suddenly, there was a loud crash down the hall, followed by yelling. Nikki pressed herself behind an open door, hoping that no-one would see her.  
A few seconds later, the other two girls walked by with Koji. Koji had a rope tied around him, and the dark-haired one had a sword to his throat.  
She was fairly tall, and muscular. A bit too muscular. Nikki realized what was wrong with this girl. It was a guy! It had to be.  
Nikki slipped out of her hiding place and followed them back to Eikan's room. They burst in, and Nikki could hear them fighting. She slipped into the room unnoticed, and made her way to Koji's side.  
He was standing against the back wall, staring straight ahead. Nikki turned to see what he was staring at. She gasped in surprise.  
A young red-headed man had the young girl over one shoulder and was speaking to Eikan. Nikki had to admit, despite the current situation, he was pretty cute. "Who is he?" she asked. "Genrou." Koji whispered.  
"Come on," Nikki said, "Let's get out of here before anyone notices." She untied Koji's ropes, and they slipped out the door.  
  
"Where are we?" asked Nikki.  
"Genrou's place. I'm the only other person who knows where it is. No-one will find us here." Koji knocked on the door and invited himself in.  
Genrou was sitting on the floor with the girl in front of him. Nikki didn't want to know what she and Koji had interrupted. Koji and Genrou were happy to see each other. They linked arms and danced around in a circle. Nikki and the girl looked at each other, and shook their heads.  
Koji and Genrou sat down again. Nikki knelt down between Koji and the girl, and looked around. The room was dark and dirty, and looked like it hadn't been lived in for a while. She imagined what the place could look like with a bit of paint and a vacuum.  
She came back to reality to find the girl jabbering on about how she could help Genrou become leader of the Bandits. She seemed to have no clue that she was a hostage. Koji seemed to be thinking the same thing.  
"Doesn't she realize that she's a hostage?" he said.  
"Looks that way." Genrou replied.  
`Ooh,' Nikki thought, `He's got such a sexy voice...wait a minute, what are you thinking, Nikki? Get a grip!'  
Apparently, the girl had already come up with a plan, and she was already on her way back to the Bandits lair. Koji, Nikki and Genrou could do nothing but follow.  
Soon, they were outside the main hall. Inside, they could hear Eikan telling his men to find Genrou. Genrou and Koji decided to make the first move.  
They crept through the bushes, keeping low. Nikki and the girl followed, but soon got separated. Nikki heard whispers up ahead, so she went towards them.  
From where she stood behind a bush, she could see Genrou and Koji. Suddenly out of nowhere, the girl's two companions showed up. The man held his sword to Genrou's throat, while the other girl was wringing Koji by the neck.  
Koji obviously needed help, so Nikki threw herself at the other girl, catching her by surprise and causing her to lose her hold on Koji's neck. They both fell over. Nikki fell face-first onto the girl's chest...only, there was no chest. This one was a guy, too! Nikki was thoroughly creeped out.  
Just then, the young girl appeared again. Nikki leaped to her feet as Koji moved protectively in front of her. The young girl explained her plan to her companions. They agreed to help.  
  
  



	5. Chapter Five

"Are you sure we can trust them?" the dark-haired man asked. They were standing in the hallway, inside the Bandit's lair. The young girl assured him that both Koji and Genrou were trustworthy. Obviously, Nikki posed no threat to them.  
`What,' she thought, `Just because I'm a girl, I can't be dangerous? These people are so sexist! I mean, come on! That was so over back in the middle ages...oh, wait a minute, these people haven't even been through the middle ages yet!'  
Suddenly, Eikan's voice sounded behind them. Koji pushed Nikki behind him. Eikan stood in the centre of the hallway, with all the Bandits behind him.  
`There's no way we can take them all,' Nikki thought. Genrou pulled out a few slips of paper which, through sorcery, could make anything you wanted appear. He said the incantation, and threw them at Eikan. Suddenly there was food flying everywhere. The papers didn't work!  
The purple-haired boy looked accusingly at the young girl.   
"You did this?!" Genrou yelled at her. Eikan laughed.  
"You can't fight your own men," Nikki said to Koji.  
"We don't have much of a choice." he said.  
Suddenly flames filled the hallway. Koji slammed Nikki into the wall, shielding her with his body. The flames seemed to have come from the iron fan Eikan held in his hand. `This place keeps getting weirder and weirder,' Nikki thought.  
All of a sudden, the girl raced forwards and grabbed at the tessen. Eikan caught her easily. The stupid kid just made herself a hostage! They couldn't attack Eikan without the girl getting hurt.  
Then out of nowhere, a young man appeared. He punched Eikan right in the face, and he went flying. The boy took out every single bandit he could get a hold of. He beat them easily, and by himself. The girl stood by and watched him. It was obvious that he meant something special to her.  
Meanwhile, Eikan had dropped the tessen. Just as he reached for it, Genrou bent down and grabbed it. "You're too slow, Eikan," he said.  
Nikki turned her attention back to the girl. She moved towards the boy, but he disappeared. He had only been an illusion. One of Genrou's papers slowly floated to the ground. The girl held it and cried.  
Nikki looked up. "You can let me go now, Koji," she said. Koji was still holding her against the wall.  
"Oh, right," Koji said, "Are you alright? You're not hurt or anything?"  
"I'm fine," she answered. "But, thank you." The girl then said she was looking for a man named Tasuki, but no-one knew who she was talking about.  
"I know him," Genrou said. "He was our former leader. But you're too late. He died a month ago."  
The girl seemed broken-hearted. It was decided that at dawn, everyone would pay their last respects to the former Leader.  
  
That night, the girl and her companions stayed with Nikki in Koji's room, while Koji stayed with Genrou. The young girl introduced herself as Miaka.  
"These are my friends Hotohori," she pointed to the dark-haired man, "And Nuriko." she pointed to the boy with the long purple braid.  
"Hi," Nikki said. She felt awkward spending the night with strangers, two strange men especially. She turned to Miaka. "So," she said, "I guess we better start with how we got here? The last thing I remember was walking into the Reference Room, you and your friend were sitting on the floor, there was a bright light, and then I was in the middle of nowhere."  
"Yeah," Miaka said, "That's pretty much how it happened for me, too. Yui-chan and I went to the Library. We started reading this book called `The Universe of the Four Gods' and there was a bright flash of light. You must have walked in then, because the next thing I knew, Yui-chan and I were in the middle of nowhere.   
"Then Tamahome came and saved us from a bunch of men, and Yui-chan went back to our world. I went to the capitol city, and that's where I met up with Tamahome, Nuriko and Hotohori. I became Suzaku-no-Miko, and they're my Seishi. Later on, in Tamahome's village, I found Chichiri. I'm looking for the other Seishi, that's why I'm here."  
"So, your friend, Yui, is back in our world?" Nikki asked.   
"Well, she was, but she came back and right now she's in Kutou," Miaka replied. She lowered her gaze. "She became Seiryuu-no-Miko. Something bad happened to her, and she blames me. Now we're fighting each other. She's in love with Tamahome, too. That's why she took him away from me." A tear slipped down her cheek.  
Nikki leaned forward and gave Miaka a hug. "You'll get him back," she said, "Don't worry." Nikki hoped for Miaka's sake that she was right.  
"You know," Miaka said, "You look a lot like Yui-chan. At first, I thought you were her, but then you yelled at Koji, and you didn't sound like Yui-chan. You're a bit taller, too. But you two could almost be twins!"  
  
Nikki didn't sleep that night. Miaka kept moving around, and Nuriko talked in his sleep. Finally, Nikki couldn't take it anymore, so she got up and went out to stand on the balcony and think for a while.  
It was cold out and Nikki was just wearing the thin kimono Koji had given her, but she didn't want to go back inside to get her jacket because she might wake the others. The balcony ran the full length of the building, so Nikki walked up and down it to keep warm. After a while, her legs got tired, so she just sat down and wrapped her arms around her knees.  
She sat there thinking until the sky started to get light and the sun turned the mountain a light pink colour. Koji said he would come to get Miaka and the others at dawn, so Nikki went back inside to wake them.  
Koji came, as promised, and led them to where the former Leader was buried. Everyone gathered around the large coffin to pay their respects.  
Genrou seemed rather distant. Koji had said that the former Leader had worried about Genrou while he was gone. Maybe he felt guilty about not coming back sooner. Nikki could guess what he was feeling right now. She knew what it felt like to lose someone special.  
So, Miaka and the others were leaving. It would be pretty quiet without them. To tell the truth, Nikki had grown attached to the girl. She liked having another girl around. Genrou, Koji and Nikki came to see them off.  
"Come with us, Nikki!" Miaka pleaded. Nikki didn't know what to say. She just shook her head. Hotohori lifted Miaka onto his horse, then leaped into the saddle behind her. Nuriko mounted his horse.  
"Be careful!" Nikki called. Miaka waved, then they rode off. Nikki waved until they were out of sight. Koji turned to go, muttering about how their way of life had been completely turned upside-down.  
"We actually gave her free food!" he complained. He looked back over his shoulder. "That girl made us completely forget we're bandits."  
Nikki was still staring vacantly down the road to the village. "Couldn't be too hard," she said.  
Koji just shook his head, and went back inside. Genrou turned to leave.  
Nikki crossed her arms over her chest. "Why didn't you go with them," she asked, "Tasuki."  
  
Genrou stopped. He turned his head towards Nikki. "How did you...?" he asked.  
Nikki smiled and nodded her head. "So," she said, "Then it's true. I had a feeling. Why didn't you go with them?"  
"I couldn't go," Genrou said, "Because I am the Leader of these Bandits. I have to...well, lead them!"  
"Oh, I see." Nikki said skeptically, "I guess it takes your superior expertise to lead these men in drinking and stealing. Forgive me for not realizing this."  
Genrou almost smiled at the amount of sarcasm in her voice. Almost, but not quite. "Look," he said, "It's more complicated than that,"  
"Really," Nikki asked, tilting her head to one side, "How?"   
"I...well...it just is." Genrou finished. He turned to leave before Nikki could ask any more questions. `This girl is so annoying!' he thought. `That's exactly why I hate girls.' He had to stay. He couldn't go against the Former Leader's wishes. At least, that's what he told himself.  
Genrou headed for the main hall. He definitely needed a drink, if only to get his mind off the girl's questions. On his way, he passed by Koji's room, which now belonged to Nikki. Through the open door, he could see Koji inside, making the bed. He carefully arranged all the pillows, and folded the blanket. "Man," Genrou chuckled, "Has she got you whipped!"  
Koji gave him a dirty look and whipped a pillow at Genrou's head. Genrou easily dodged it.  
"Anyways," he continued, "I'm going for a drink. Wanna join me?"  
"You don't have to go, I've got lots here," Nikki said from behind him.  
Genrou turned to look at Nikki, then back at Koji. "You gave her some of our hard-earned..."  
"Stolen," Nikki corrected, "And I think by now I've earned it. Unless you've forgotten the incidents of yesterday," Nikki glanced at Koji, then opened the chest and offered him a drink, which he grudgingly accepted.  
Koji and Genrou sat down at the small table, while Nikki went to get them something to eat.  
`Maybe I should have gone with Miaka,' she thought. She shook her head. `I couldn't just leave Koji like that, after all he's done for me.' She picked up the small tray of food she had prepared, and headed back to her room.  
  
Nikki paused at the door to her room. She could hear Genrou and Koji talking inside. She couldn't make out exactly what was being said, but basically Koji was telling Genrou to go with Miaka, if it wasn't too late to catch up with her.  
Nikki walked into the room, and placed the tray on the table. Genrou rubbed his hands together and said, "Hey, great! Room Service!" Nikki slapped him in the back of the head. Koji put his hand over his mouth and pretended to cough, to hide his laughter.  
Genrou rubbed his head. "Anyways," he said, "You know I can't go, Koji. I'm Leader now. If I went, what would these guys do? They'd be running wild all over the place."  
"So find someone else to take your place." Nikki suggested.   
"Yeah, right," he replied, "Like who?"  
"What about Koji?" she asked "You can trust him right?" Koji seemed shocked that she would have suggested him.  
"Well, I guess," he replied hesitantly.  
Nikki placed her hand on Genrou's shoulder and bent down so she was eye-level with him. "Look, Genrou, or Tasuki, or whoever you are, if you don't go after them, something really bad will happen."  
"Is that a threat?" He raised an eyebrow at Nikki.  
"No," she whispered, "It's a promise."  
Later that night, Nikki, Koji, and the newly-christened Tasuki, were gathered outside. Tasuki's horse had been readied, and Tasuki was just making the final adjustments necessary for their trip. Koji and Nikki stood watching.  
"You're really going with him," he said to her.  
"Yes, Koji," she replied with a sigh, "For the hundredth time, I'm going with him. Miaka invited me, so I guess it'll be okay if I tag along. Besides someone has to keep Tasuki there in his place..." Nikki tried to smile, but failed pitifully. Koji lowered his eyes and nodded.  
"Look," she continued, "I feel really bad about leaving you like this. You've done so much for me, and I wouldn't go if I didn't think it was really important, but..." Nikki couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence.  
Tasuki called to her. "Well, that's my ride," she said, "Koji, there's something I want you to have; to remember me by."   
He turned to her, with a questioning look on his face. "What?" he asked.  
"This," she whispered. She reached her hand up and brought his face down onto hers. They kissed for only a moment, until Nikki pulled away and ran to where Tasuki was waiting. Koji watched her leave, completely and totally confused.  
  
  



	6. Chapter Six

Nikki joined Tasuki at his horse. It looked so much bigger up close. "You expect me to get on THAT?!" she asked with a skeptical look.  
"What, you've never ridden a horse? C'mon, I thought you were weird before, but now..." Nikki gave him a hard punch in the arm before he could continue.  
Tasuki leaped into the saddle, then leaned down to pull Nikki up behind him. "Hold on," he said. Nikki wrapped her arms around him for dear life; at least until he practically turned blue from not being able to breathe.  
Nikki waved goodbye to Koji one last time, and they took off. Nikki hoped that they would get to Miaka in time to stop whatever was going to happen.  
They didn't have to ride for long before they heard a scream coming from just off of the main trail.  
Tasuki was off the horse in a flash, but Nikki took somewhat longer. She ran to where the scream came from, and looked down upon Miaka and her two companions. Not only that, but they were being attacked by dozens of zombies!  
Nikki watched as the zombies came after the two men. The dark-haired one, Hotohori, was trying to protect Miaka, when he was grabbed from behind. Miaka was thrown to the ground, and more of the walking corpses converged upon her.  
Nikki ran to help Miaka. "Leave her alone!" she yelled. Three of the zombies turned and came after her. "Oh, shit," she muttered. She punched the face of the closest corpse, and it's head went flying. She looked down at her fist. `Not bad,' she thought.  
Just then, Tasuki yelled out, "Everyone, lie flat on the ground!" Nikki dropped to her stomach, just as flames shot everywhere, destroying the zombies. Nikki looked at the others, who didn't seem badly injured.  
Tasuki joined Miaka and her companions. Miaka thanked him for saving them. "I thought you would have figured it out by now," he said, "Tasuki's me. Sorry for deceiving you..."  
Nikki missed the rest, because her eyes came to rest on Miaka. Suddenly, the girl feinted. Nikki rushed to her side.   
"She has a fever," Hotohori explained, "We have to get her back to the village. Nuriko! Find my horse!"  
  
Nikki paced back and forth, watching Miaka. The girl was obviously ill, Nikki could tell just by looking at her, but Nikki couldn't shake the feeling that something else was wrong.  
`Calm down,' she thought to herself, `You're going to end up making yourself sick. Miaka will get better, and everything will be fine.' She repeated this to herself a few more times, to make sure she really believed it.  
Her pacing was starting to annoy Tasuki. "Would you stop doing that? You're making me dizzy!" he yelled. Nikki sat down at the foot of Miaka's bed.  
Hotohori looked to Shoka, the young woman whose house they were in, and asked if there was anything she could do. "I'm sorry," she said, "But my powers are bringing the dead back to life. If Miaka should die, then I could help."  
Nikki didn't doubt that this woman could bring the dead to life; she was beginning to get used to everything being completely and totally bizarre.  
Miaka struggled to speak. "There must be a doctor in the village," she said, "It's worth a try,"  
The next morning, they ventured out into the village to find the doctor who could help Miaka. They asked him for assistance, but he only told them to try Myojuan, another doctor in town, before throwing them out into the street.  
Miaka was weak. Nikki could see that it took tremendous effort just to stand, even with the walking stick Miaka was using. Nikki put her arm around Miaka's waist, giving her a little support.  
Just then, a man selling fish ran through the street, dropping one as he went. Miaka seemed to regain strength at the sight of food. Just as she reached for the fish, an old man grabbed it. Miaka chased him all the way out of the village, to his cottage in the forest. Nikki and the others, minus Shoka who had returned home, followed her.  
They all peered through one of the cottages windows. Inside, a small cat was eating the fish the man had taken. The man sat on the floor not far away, with all kinds of medicines in jars around him.  
"Perhaps this is Myojuan?" Hotohori asked.  
Tasuki pushed open the front door. "You there," he commanded, "Are you Myojuan?"  
  
The man looked up in surprise. He was badly in need of a haircut and a shave, and had a crazy look in his eyes.  
"Please," Nikki said as she stepped beside Tasuki, "This girl is sick, and we were told you could help us,"  
The man just yelled at them, "Get out! I am no longer concerned with humans!"  
The others quickly turned to go, but Nikki stood in the doorway for a moment, staring at the man with a pleading look on her face. Finally, she shook her head and walked away.  
Outside, Miaka's condition had taken a sudden turn for the worse. She had passed out, and Hotohori was carrying her back to the village.  
`Poor kid must've overdone it, running like that.' Nikki thought. She didn't have time to react before Nuriko grabbed her by the arm and started pulling her after them. Nuriko pulled a bit too hard, and Nikki bit her lip to try to block the pain in her shoulder.  
They returned to Shoka's house. They all stood around Miaka's bed, not knowing what to do next. Shoka suggested killing her, so that she could be revived. Tasuki and Nikki disagreed.  
"What?" Tasuki yelled.  
"You can't just kill her!" Nikki cried.  
"That's okay," Miaka struggled to speak. Her voice was very weak. "I can't continue much longer in this condition. Please,"   
Nikki knelt down by Miaka's head and gently brushed the hair from her face. "Miaka, you don't know what you're talking about," she said quietly.  
Miaka looked to Hotohori. "Leave us." he said, "I'll kill her."  
Nikki stood up, so that she was between Hotohori and Miaka. "I won't let you touch her!" she screamed.  
Shoka turned to leave, followed by Tasuki. Nuriko grabbed Nikki firmly by the arms, and led her out of the room. Nikki struggled against his grasp. "No!" she cried, "Leave her alone! Let go of me!" It was no use. Nuriko was too strong. Shoka shut the door behind them.  
  
Nikki was starting to feel disoriented. The one time someone really needed her, and she couldn't do anything. `I can't let this happen,' she thought, but deep down, she knew there was nothing she could do to stop it.  
Nikki suddenly felt nauseous. Her head was spinning. She could feel her knees starting to weaken, and she couldn't breathe properly. Without thinking, she grabbed Nuriko's upper arm for support.  
Nuriko, seeing that she was about to fall, pulled her against his chest. He wrapped one arm around her waist for support, and the other around her shoulders.  
Nikki didn't fight back. She stood there, completely limp, with her head resting on Nuriko's chest. She could feel the warmth of his body, hear his heartbeat, but somehow she felt completely alone.  
From inside the room, they heard the dull `thunk' as Hotohori's sword found it's target. Nikki buried her face in Nuriko's chest and cried, while Nuriko gently stroked her hair. She felt so fragile.  
She couldn't tell how long they stood there like that. Nikki felt that, for once in her life, she was safe. Nuriko wouldn't let anything happen to her. She wanted it to stay that way.  
When Nikki came back to her senses, she could hear voices coming from behind the door. It registered in the back of her mind that Miaka must be okay.  
Somehow, her arms had become wrapped around Nuriko's neck, and she was holding him uncomfortably close. Embarrassed, she dropped her arms and stepped away. She wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her kimono.  
After a moment, Hotohori emerged from the room. Nikki rushed to him. "How is Miaka? Is she alright?" Hotohori nodded. Nikki poked her head in the door, to see Miaka resting peacefully. `Hotohori loves her too much,' Nikki thought, `He couldn't hurt her.'  
Hotohori quickly walked to where his horse was tied, and pulled himself into the saddle.  
"Where are you going?" Nuriko asked.  
"To find a doctor," Hotohori replied.  
"Wait for us!" Tasuki called, "Shoka-san! Take care of Miaka. We'll be back soon!" Tasuki lifted Nikki onto his horse and leaped up behind her. Nuriko borrowed a horse from Shoka, and they all set off for Myojuan's cottage.  
  
Moments later, they stood at Myojuan's door. Hotohori threw it open. He dropped to his knees, to beg the doctor to help Miaka.  
Nikki could sense that begging was not something he did very often. He always carried himself so proudly; Nikki was almost ashamed to see him on his knees. Nikki knelt as quickly as she could without ripping her kimono. Nuriko and Tasuki instinctively dropped to their knees also.  
"Please," they said, "We beg you to help her!"  
"You are the only doctor left in this village," Nikki pleaded, "You must help. We can't do it Shoka-san's way..."   
Myojuan turned to them, with a horrified look on his face. "Just now," he said, "Did you say `Shoka'?" Nikki nodded. "That's impossible!" he cried, "Shoka...one year ago...died!"   
"What?!" Nikki and the others cried in unison. Slowly, it dawned on Nikki that they had left Miaka alone with Shoka. "We have to get back to her," Nikki whispered.  
Hotohori, Nuriko and Tasuki were instantly on their feet. Nikki had to brace herself in the doorway and ease herself into a standing position. Once she was up, she quickly ran to where the horses were waiting.  
Hotohori and Tasuki were already mounted, and were leaving. "I guess you're with me," Nuriko said, winking. He reached down with one arm, and grabbing Nikki by the arm, lifted her off the ground and onto the saddle.  
Nikki couldn't believe how strong he was. Well, she knew he was stronger than most people, but he was able to lift a sixteen-year old girl right off the ground with only one arm!  
"Hold on tight," Nuriko said. Nikki, who was sitting sideways on the horse, wrapped one arm around his waist. Nuriko kicked the horse, and they took off. Nikki suddenly remembered how much she hated horses.  
She leaned back against Nuriko and tightened her arm around him. She tried to take a deep breath, but the wind was rushing by so fast she couldn't breathe, and tears were coming to her eyes. She squeezed her eyes shut and buried her face into Nuriko's chest. She prayed that they wouldn't be too late.  
  
  



	7. Chapter Seven

The horses raced through the village. It hadn't taken long for them to get back, but Nikki hoped they would be in time. One look at Nuriko's face showed that he was thinking the same thing. Suddenly, the horse reared back, throwing them both to the ground. Nikki landed on her back, with Nuriko on top of her. She lay there for a moment, stunned, until she realized why the horse had reared. They were surrounded by a mob of angry villagers with knives.  
Nuriko pulled Nikki to her feet. Hotohori and Tasuki had been thrown from their horses as well, and they all stood defenceless in the middle of the angry mob.  
"I've got a bad feeling about this whole village," said Hotohori. Nuriko pushed Nikki between him and Tasuki, getting ready to fight.  
The villagers suddenly lunged at them, attacking all at once. Nikki turned just in time to see four men rushing at her. She stepped out of the way and put her foot out, tripping two of them.  
Nuriko picked up a wooden cart and swung it at the villagers attacking Hotohori. "Go," he said, "Help Miaka."  
Tasuki had been knocked to the ground, and a man was standing over him with his knife raised, ready to kill him. "No!" Nikki screamed. She ran to Tasuki and threw herself on top of him. `It doesn't matter what happens to me,' she thought, `But Tasuki has to protect Miaka. I won't let anything happen to him!'  
Before the villager had time to move, a tall young man appeared out of nowhere and punched him, hard. Nikki thanked him and pulled Tasuki to his feet. Tasuki seemed somewhat embarrassed at being saved by a girl, but Nikki decided to wait till later to tease him about it. They had more important things to deal with right now.  
They all burst through the door of Shoka's home to find not Shoka, but a demon holding Miaka. Hotohori was about to attack, when he turned to acknowledge their arrival. "Who is that?" he asked, looking at the young man.  
"He just kinda showed up," Nuriko said.  
Demon Shoka stood staring at the man. "Juan," she whispered.  
  
`Juan?' Nikki thought, `As in, Myojuan?' She studied the man's face. `Sure, all he had to do was shave and cut his hair. That old man is way young!' Nuriko and Tasuki seemed just as surprised as she was.  
Suddenly, the villagers outside appeared at the window, and Tasuki and Nuriko ran to shut it. Myojuan explained to them, "Those are all the people that Shoka revived. They are all the villagers that died."  
"Told ya we should've fried 'em," Tasuki muttered.  
Shoka looked at Myojuan with a look of pure hatred. "Even though I was dying," she screamed, "I still waited for you. You never came! Now, I'm going to kill this girl!"  
Hotohori and Tasuki stepped forward, ready to strike, but Miaka stopped them. She placed herself in front of Shoka, so they could not reach her.  
"She's not a monster!" Miaka cried.  
`Poor kid,' Nikki thought, `That fever's gone to her head. She's crazy!'  
"Shoka-san came back to see her boyfriend, Juan. She never got a chance to say good-bye before she died." Miaka explained.  
Shoka's face slowly changed from the demon's, back to normal. She collapsed to her knees. She looked up to Myojuan and the others. "Help me," she whispered.  
Just then, there was a loud, ripping noise, and an enormous demon emerged from Shoka's back as she cried out in pain. It grabbed Miaka with a few of it's large tentacles, and lifted her off the ground, ready to devour her. Shoka managed to whisper, "The demon took over my body as I was dying. Please, help me!"   
Tasuki, Hotohori, Nikki, and Nuriko all rushed at the demon from different sides, but they were grabbed by the monster's tentacles.  
Nikki fought as hard as she could, but she had no weapon, and there was very little she could do. The tentacle wrapped around her neck, trying to choke her.  
"Hurry, Juan!" Shoka cried, "You have to kill me!"  
`He still cares for her, but can he kill her?' Nikki thought, as she struggled to breathe.  
Myojuan hesitated for a moment, but then a bright light suddenly came from his left palm, and surrounded the demon. A moment later, Nikki found herself hitting the ground, knocking the wind out of her. The entire house, as well as the demon, had disappeared.  
  
Nikki took in huge gulps of air. As her pulse slowed and her breathing became more normal, she looked around. Everyone else was okay. She rubbed her neck, and became suddenly aware of a familiar pain in her shoulder. She turned her head to see blood seeping through the back of her kimono. She cursed under her breath. "Damn thing must've re-opened the wound."  
Myojuan knelt over Miaka. The same green light came from his palm, and she slowly came to. As her eyes focused, she let out a gasp of surprise. "You have the mark of a Suzaku seishi!" she cried.  
"Yes," Myojuan answered, "I am the Suzaku seishi, Mitsukake. I have healing powers"  
`Naw, really?' Nikki thought, rolling her eyes.  
He continued sadly, "I was a doctor in this village. I tried to help her," He slowly lifted Shoka's body, cradling her against his chest. "I was away in another village, and by the time I got back, it was too late. I couldn't save her."  
Nikki felt a lump in her throat, and gently placed her hand on Nuriko's forearm. He looked down at it in surprise.  
Miaka started to cry. "But you did save her," she said quietly, "Shoka-san looks happy!" Mitsukake looked down at Shoka's face. There was a faint smile on her lips.  
Nikki looked up at Nuriko. There was a single tear slipping down his cheek. She looked to Tasuki and Hotohori, who were trying desperately not to cry. Tasuki's chin was quivering. "You know," she whispered to him, "It's okay to cry,"  
"I'm not crying," he choked, "Who said I was crying? Because I'm not. You're a girl, why aren't you crying?"  
"What," Nikki hissed, "Just because I'm a girl, that means it's necessary that I cry about everything? What if I don't feel like crying? I'm not a wimp," She paused, giving Tasuki a meaningful glare, "Unlike SOME people,"  
"What," he yelled, "So now you're saying that..."  
Hotohori raised his hand to silence them. Tasuki opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it. Nikki smirked, and casually looped her arm around Nuriko's. Together, they silently watched the sun rise.  
  
"I'm so hungry," Miaka moaned. She was riding with Hotohori on his horse.  
Nikki looked up at her skeptically and said, "Miaka, it's been about three hours since you last ate, and you ate a lot! I probably could survive a week on what you just ate."  
"But I'm still hungry," Miaka whined.  
Hotohori shook his head. "We'll stop at the next village we come to, and you can eat there." he said to her.  
"But the next village," Mitsukake said, "Isn't for another..."  
Nikki quickly elbowed him in the ribs. "I'm sure we'll get there soon. Just hang in there," she said cheerily.  
They continued walking for the rest of the morning, and around noon, even Nikki was getting hungry. They stopped in a large clearing. Nuriko and Tasuki began preparing what little food they had brought.  
Nikki picked up her bag and wandered into the forest. "I'll be right back," she called over her shoulder. She went as deep into the forest as she dared, and, convinced no-one could possibly see her, began undressing.  
Carefully, she removed her kimono and threw it over a nearby branch. She quickly pulled on her jeans, and for some reason opted for the low-cut baby-blue T-shirt. Relieved to be in more comfortable clothing, she picked up her kimono and walked back to the clearing.  
As she neared, she could hear Tasuki yelling at Miaka, who had apparently eaten most of the food already. Nikki just shook her head. She walked over to where Nuriko was making a fire, and put her bag down.  
Nikki crouched down next to Nuriko. "Need any help?" she asked.  
"This piece of wood won't light," he replied. He was trying to get a spark by hitting two stones together, but he got so frustrated that he ended up smashing them into tiny pieces. "Here," Nikki said. She bumped Nuriko out of the way with her hip, and pulled her lighter out of her pocket. Within moments, the fire was burning.  
Nuriko stared in awe at Nikki's lighter. "What is that?" he asked, completely amazed.  
"It's called a lighter. It makes fire. Similar to a tessen, only a lot less conspicuous. I keep forgetting that you don't have all the modern stuff that we do...I guess it's pretty lucky I had it with me," Nikki was interrupted by Miaka, who wanted to know if lunch was ready yet.  
  
  



	8. Chapter Eight

That night, they all sat around a large fire. This time, though, they had done it the easy way and used Tasuki's tessen.   
"I'm sure that we'll find the last seishi tomorrow," Miaka said. Hotohori agreed, as usual.  
Nikki sat quietly, staring into the flames. Tasuki noticed that she was looking rather distant, so he asked her if there was anything wrong.  
"No," she said quietly, "I'm just thinking." Tasuki shrugged and went back to his conversation with Nuriko. Suddenly, Nikki stood up and announced, "I don't know about you guys, but I'm tired. I'm going to bed now." She walked away from the fire, and after propping her bag against a tree, lay down.  
The truth was, she wasn't tired. She just wanted to be alone for a while. She lay awake listening to the conversation around the fire. Miaka was saying how much she missed her mother and brother, not to mention fast-food, and how she still had to study for the high-school exams.  
`It would be nice to be able to go to school again,' Nikki thought to herself. She quickly pushed the thought away. She didn't want to think about her world right now. She wasn't sure if she would ever get back there again. She wasn't sure if she would want to leave this world she was in.  
Eventually, the conversation around the fire died down, and everyone got ready for bed. Hotohori loudly objected to having to sleep on the dirt, but eventually gave in, and everything was quiet.  
The night was rather chilly, and Nikki hadn't bothered putting her jacket on before. She waited a few moments, until she was sure everyone was asleep, then got up and went to sit by the fire again.  
Nuriko was stretched out on his back next to the fire, which was starting to die down. Nikki stared at him for a moment. With his hair being so long, he really did look like a girl.  
`He's probably never cut his hair in his life,' Nikki thought, `He's lucky,' She ran a hand through her own, considerably shorter hair. Noticing again that the fire was almost dead, Nikki grabbed another log and threw it on.  
  
The fire snapped and popped a few times before the log finally caught, and the fire roared back to life. Nikki found the flames beautiful; almost hypnotizing.  
"I know you're awake," she said to Nuriko.  
"How would you know that?" he asked, opening one eye.  
Nikki turned to face him. "Because you're talking to me," she said, smirking.  
Nuriko rolled to his side and propped himself up on one elbow. "Why aren't you sleeping?" he asked.  
Nikki turned her face back to the fire. "I'm not tired," she said quietly.  
Nuriko sat up. "But before, you said that you..."  
"I just wanted people to leave me alone for a while," Nikki snapped, "I never get a minute's peace! Between Miaka's bottomless stomach, and you and Tasuki always arguing, I can never find a minute for myself!"  
Nuriko looked away, hurt.  
Nikki sighed and turned to him. "I'm sorry," she said, "I didn't mean it like that. With so many people in our little family here," she looked around at the others, who were sleeping peacefully, "I suppose it's hard for anyone to find a quiet minute for themselves. I'm just not used to being around other people, I guess. Please don't be mad at me, it's not really your fault," Nikki reached out and put her hand on Nuriko's shoulder. "To be honest, I really like having you all around. It's nice to have a family for once."  
Nuriko smiled and placed his hand over Nikki's. "That's okay, I'm not mad at you,"  
Nikki couldn't help but notice a tingling sensation where Nuriko's hand was touching hers. It was almost electric, and it moved up her arm until...she pulled her hand away before she did anything she might regret later.  
"So," she said, "I guess we really should get some rest," Nuriko nodded his agreement. "Well, good-night." Before she could stop herself, she leaned forward and kissed Nuriko's cheek. He stared at her in shock. Nikki could feel her face turning bright red, so she walked away as quickly as possible. She lay her head down on her bag and curled into a ball.  
`What the hell were you thinking?' she thought, `He's in love with Hotohori. He would never love you. You're just going to get yourself hurt.' She closed her eyes. "I can't help it. I love Nuriko," she whispered.  
  
They were all up early the next morning. Nikki avoided Nuriko for most of the day. She was able to eventually convince herself that it had simply been a good-night kiss, and that it hadn't meant anything, but her thoughts were still holding on to the `What If's. Nuriko tried many times to start a conversation, but Nikki would simply give one-word answers, or change the subject completely.  
Late in the afternoon, it started to rain. Luckily, they were all able to take refuge in a small mill on the edge of a waterfall. It was warm and dry, and looked like it hadn't been lived in for a while, so everyone settled in to wait out the storm.  
There wasn't much room, but Nikki managed to find a place in a corner, as far away from Nuriko as possible. She took her CD player out of her bag, and turned it on. At least this way she had an excuse not to talk to anyone. She sat there for a while and stared off into space.  
She was brought back to reality by a sudden poke in her forehead, which slammed her head into the wall behind her. Nuriko was kneeling in front of her. Slowly, she removed her headphones and rubbed her forehead.  
"Something wrong?" he asked, "You looked kinda...distant."  
"I'm fine." Nikki looked around the room; anywhere but Nuriko's face.  
"It's just, you've been avoiding me since last night," he continued.  
`Why won't he just go away,' Nikki thought.  
"This wouldn't have anything to do with that little goodnight kiss, would it?" he asked quietly.  
Not quietly enough, because Tasuki yelled out, "What! You kissed Nuriko?"  
All eyes slowly turned to Nikki. "N-no," she stammered, but she could feel her face turning red. Not knowing what else to do, and needing to get away from the other seishi's stares, Nikki jumped to her feet and bolted for the door.  
"Real sensitive, Tasuki!" Nuriko said, going after her. Tasuki just sat there, confused.  
  
Outside, Nikki ran down the path, almost unable to see through the tears that stung her eyes. Slipping in the mud, she fell to her knees. She didn't bother to get up, she just sat there, shivering in the rain.  
She wiped away the tears. There was no reason to cry; she was more angry than sad. Angry at Tasuki, but more angry at herself. Why did she have to feel this way? She'd never felt this way about anyone before; she'd never much liked anyone before.  
Nikki could hear Nuriko's footsteps behind her. "You know, you'll catch a cold if you stay out here," he said in his cheerful manner.  
`How can he sound so happy all the time?' Nikki thought. She didn't answer him, she just sat there, watching the splash of raindrops in the puddles.  
"Come on," Nuriko urged,placing a hand on Nikki's shoulder, "You're getting soaked!"  
Nikki pulled away. "No! I'm not going back there. I...I can't."  
"Why?" Nuriko crouched beside her.  
Nikki wrapped her arms around herself, trying to stop shivering. She didn't know why. She just knew that she didn't want her friends staring at her like that. She felt so confused.  
"Come on," Nuriko repeated. He took Nikki by the arm and helped her to her feet. "Let's get you inside and dried off."   
He started to head back, but Nikki didn't move. "Don't worry, I'll tell Tasuki to lay off."  
"You don't get it!" Nikki screamed, "I'm in love with you!" As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Nikki regretted it. She turned away from Nuriko and covered her face with her hands. She tried taking a deep breath, but it caught in her throat.  
Nuriko couldn't believe what he had just heard. Sure, he'd suspected something for a while now, but he didn't know what to say. He stood there scratching his head for a moment.  
"You know," he said finally, "That could be a problem, since I'm gay,"  
"Ugh!" Nikki moaned, "You think I don't know that? Look, let's just go back, and pretend like nothing ever happened."  
As she walked past Nuriko, he kind of smiled and gave her an `I'm sorry' look. Nikki tried to smile back, and kept walking.  
  
Later on, Nikki sat against the wall, wrapped in a blanket. Mitsukake had made some hot tea, which Nuriko insisted she drink. Nikki didn't like tea much, but she was too emotionally drained to argue.  
The only thing she did notice was that as much as Nuriko fussed over her, he never once mentioned his own discomfort, and he was just as wet and cold as she was. `Must be a guy thing,' Nikki thought. She got up and poured another cup of tea, which she gave to Nuriko.  
As he took the cup from her, Nikki started laughing.  
"What?" he asked, looking confused.  
"Your hair is a complete mess!" Nikki said. One by one, the others turned and nodded their agreement. Hotohori started snickering, but covered it up with a well-timed cough.  
Nuriko's hair was all wet and matted, and the braid was starting to come undone. There were flyaway pieces sticking out all over.  
Nikki knelt behind him. "Don't worry, I'll fix it." She took out her brush and carefully undid his braid. "My God!" she said, "Your hair is so long! I guess that's the style here," She looked to Hotohori, then ran her fingers through her own short hair.  
She picked up her brush again and started to untangle Nuriko's hair. As soon as she could run her fingers through it smoothly, she began making two braids, one on each side.  
Nikki liked the way Nuriko's hair just flowed around her fingers, so she worked as slowly as she dared. Once the braids were done, she wrapped each one around and around itself, making two large buns at the side of his face.  
Nikki pinned them there, then called to Miaka. "Hey, Miaka! Like the hair?"  
"He looks like Princess Leia!" Both girls started laughing hysterically. The others looked on in curiosity.  
Nikki stopped laughing and wiped the tears from her eyes. "I'm sorry," she said, "It's something from our world." She unpinned his hair and brushed it out again. She braided it and pinned it up at the back, but she couldn't stop herself from snickering now and again. She cleared her throat, patted Nuriko on the shoulder, and went back to her corner.  
  
  



	9. Chapter Nine

It didn't take long for everyone to fall asleep. After walking almost non-stop for the past few days, everyone was exhausted.  
Sometime during the night, Nikki woke up to find Tasuki leaning heavily on her shoulder. She pushed him off, and stretched her back. It wasn't very comfortable sleeping against the wall, but there wasn't much room to stretch out on the floor.  
As luck would have it, the only available floor space was next to Nuriko. Nikki decided to take the opportunity, and silently crept to where he was stretched out on his stomach. Carefully, so as not to wake him, she lay down and rested her head in the small of his back. Satisfied, she fell asleep.  
Nuriko was awakened early in the morning by Miaka, who was reading aloud from her textbook. He was startled to find Nikki curled up to his side.  
"Miaka," he whined, "What are you doing so early? Be quiet! I want to sleep!"  
"It helps to memorize lessons if you read them out loud. I still have to study for high school!" Miaka said.  
"Just be quiet!" Nuriko moaned, putting his pillow over his head.  
Nikki rolled onto her back, stretched and yawned.  
"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," Nuriko said from underneath his pillow.  
"No, I was kinda awake already." Nikki answered, "Miaka, why don't I quiz you on your lesson? Quietly, of course," she added, glancing at Nuriko.  
"Sure," Miaka said. Nikki dragged herself over to Miaka and opened the textbook.  
Just then, Miaka heard something. "Do you hear that?" she asked.  
"What now?" Nuriko moaned.  
"A flute." Miaka said.  
Nikki closed her eyes, listening carefully. She heard something, but it wasn't possible to tell what it was. "Let's not worry about it, Miaka," she suggested, "Concentrate on your lesson."  
As Nikki read through the textbook, she started thinking again about going back to school. `It'd be nice to go to school again,' she thought, `Maybe Miaka will teach me some of her lessons.' Nikki acknowledged the thought, and resumed Miaka's studies.  
  
It was around noon, and they had been walking all morning. Luckily, the rain had stopped sometime during the night, and the sky was a bright blue. Nikki admired the scenery as they walked. Miaka, as usual, was riding with Hotohori. "But I swear I heard a flute!" she said.  
"I believe you." Hotohori responded.  
"Why am I not surprised?" Nikki whispered to Tasuki. Tasuki just smiled. Nikki thought it was incredibly cute how one of Tasuki's fangs stuck out when he smiled.  
It wasn't long before they spotted a village just ahead. "That's Tamahome's village!" Miaka cried. She jumped down from Hotohori's horse. "This is where we found Chichiri. Oh, Mitsukake, come with me!" She grabbed his hand and pulled him down the hill, into the village.  
"Well," Nikki stated, "It's nice to see that SOMEBODY got enough sleep last night."  
The others continued into the village at a somewhat slower pace than Miaka.  
"Now," Nuriko said, somewhat to himself, "If I remember correctly, Tamahome's house should be just...here!" They came to a small home just as a young boy came running out through the front door.  
Nikki entered first, only to be swarmed by three other young children. She didn't mind; she loved kids. She knelt, so she was about the height of the young boy. "Hi," she said, smiling, "My name's Nikki. What's yours?"  
The young boy hid shyly behind his older sister. "He's Shunkei," his sister said, "And I'm Gyokuran." Nikki felt a tug on her sleeve. She turned to see the youngest girl, who looked to be about five.  
"My name is Yuiren. Are you my brother's wife?"  
Nikki smiled and stood up, lifting the girl onto her hip. "I thought YOU were Tamahome's wife," she said. Yuiren just giggled. "No, I'm just a friend."  
"Are you still my big sister?" the girl asked sweetly. Nikki smiled. "If you want me to be," She placed Yuiren back on the ground, and she wandered off. `Cute kids,' Nikki thought.  
Hotohori entered the small home and looked around in shock. "I never knew such poverty existed!" he said.  
"Poverty!?" Nikki exclaimed, "I'd give anything to have grown up in a place this nice! Believe me, you have no idea what poverty is until you've seen the places I've seen."  
`Or lived,' she thought.  
Just then, the oldest boy came back, carrying fresh fish. Miaka jumped up and ran to him, thinking it was Tamahome, and knocked him onto his back.  
Nikki stood over her and shook her head. "You know, Miaka, maybe you DIDN'T get enough sleep last night."  
  
That evening, Nuriko, Nikki, and the eldest boy, Chuei, prepared dinner. Nuriko wondered over how much like Tamahome Chuei was, while Nikki chopped vegetables. After a few minutes, they heard a loud growl come from just outside the window.  
"Miaka," Nuriko called, "Dinner's ready!"  
"Coming!" she answered.  
Nikki turned to Nuriko. "You know," she said, "I don't think we made enough food,"  
"But we've been cooking all afternoon!" Chuei exclaimed.   
Nikki nodded. "Like I said, I don't think we made enough food!" Nuriko sighed and shook his head.  
Nikki carried the plates of food to the ravenous Miaka, and the seishi. As she set Hotohori's plate in front of him, he asked her for a cup of water.  
Nikki sighed, "Yes, your Majesty!" She had intended for the remark to be sarcastic, but Hotohori looked up at her with a look of wonder, as if to say, `How did you know?' It suddenly dawned on Nikki that there might be some truth behind her remark. Nikki smiled and gave him a wink, and got him his water.  
Later that night, Miaka and Nikki stood at the basin brushing their teeth. Miaka looked out the window. "Nuriko," she called, "Do bats attack people?"  
"Not usually," he answered.  
Nikki felt a chill run down her spine. She just had a weird feeling. She couldn't explain it, it was just a gut feeling. Something was going to happen; something bad. She pushed it away, crawled into bed with Miaka, and tried to sleep.  
Later, Miaka awoke to hear the same flute she heard before. "Nuriko, Nuriko, do you hear that?"  
"It's nothing," he moaned, "Go back to sleep."  
Nikki sat up. "No, I hear it, too!" she said. It sounded like it was coming from far away. Miaka got up and went to the door, to see if she could see where it was coming from.   
Suddenly, she screamed, and ran away from the house and into the forest. Tasuki and Hotohori followed her.  
"Miaka!" Nikki called. She started to run after her, but Nuriko caught her in the doorway. He wrapped his arm around her waist and dragged her back inside.  
Nikki was trembling, so he sat her down on his bunk. She had a look of sheer shock on her face.  
"Shhh," he whispered, "Calm down."  
Nikki shook her head. "I should have stopped her...I knew this would happen!"  
  
Nikki's voice was so quiet, Nuriko had to lean forward to hear her. "What do you mean, you knew this would happen?" he asked, concerned.  
"I don't know. I felt it! I knew something bad would happen!" She wrapped her arms around herself and began rocking back and forth. "This is all my fault!" she said, "I should have stopped her. I shouldn't have let her leave. This is all my fault!"  
Nuriko put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to his chest. "This isn't your fault," he said, resting his head on top of hers, "Nobody blames you. You had no way of preventing this." Gradually, Nuriko could feel Nikki calm down.  
After a few minutes, Miaka, Tasuki, and Hotohori returned, with another young boy, whom Miaka introduced as the final seishi, Chiriko. He was the one who had been playing the flute.   
Nikki ran to Miaka and embraced her tightly. "I'm so glad you're okay!" Nikki said.  
Miaka, somewhat startled, didn't know what to say except "Thanks." Eventually, everyone calmed down, and went back to bed.  
The next morning, the seishi, Miaka, and Nikki left for the capital. Nikki said goodbye to each of the children, and gave them a hug. Yuiren tugged on Miaka's skirt, pleading with her not to go. Chiriko pulled out his flute and played a soothing melody. Yuiren fell asleep immediately. Waving goodbye, Nikki turned and left before the kids wanted her to stay, too.  
"I almost hate to leave," she said, pretty much to whoever was listening, "Those kids are so cute. Especially that little Yuiren; she's so adorable, it's almost impossible not to love her. Miaka, watch where you're going..."  
Just then, Miaka, who was walking just behind Nikki, tripped over a small rock. Nikki reached out her arm and caught her.   
"How did you know?" Miaka asked.  
Nikki thought for a moment, and shrugged. "I don't really know," she said slowly, "I just kind of...knew. Besides, with you, Miaka, it's kind of expected" They continued walking.   
`Great,' Nikki thought, `Now I'm the one getting weird. Maybe I'm psychic or something. How else could I have known?' That thought sent Nikki into almost complete mental overload, so she shrugged it off and kept moving.  
  
Late that afternoon, they finally arrived back at the capital city. As they entered the Palace courtyard, a young man that looked exactly like Hotohori came running out to meet them.  
As he neared, he suddenly changed in appearance to be a young man with blue hair, wearing a mask. Nikki wasn't that surprised. Miaka introduced him to the group as Chichiri.  
Nikki stood there, and wondered how he could function properly with his hair. The bangs were pretty much sticking straight out to the front! "Nice hair!" she said to him.  
"Da!" was all he said in response.  
`The guy's a real nut-job!' Nikki thought to herself.  
After a few minutes, Tasuki noticed that Hotohori was missing. No sooner had he mentioned it, when Hotohori came down the stairs, dressed in his royal finery. Tasuki, Mitsukake, and Chiriko nearly died of surprise.  
"Ack!" Tasuki gasped, "He's the Emperor!?" Hotohori nodded, and gave a discreet wink to Nikki. She smiled and bowed respectfully as he passed.  
That evening, a large dinner was prepared for the seishi. Hotohori brought up the subject of finding Tamahome in Kutou.  
"I'll go," Miaka volunteered, "It was my fault that the Universe of the Four Gods was lost, so I'll get it back. I'll bring back Tamahome, too." With that, Miaka had made up her mind to go, and the discussion was over. Chichiri assured Hotohori that he would go too, to protect Miaka.  
Chichiri told Miaka that he would use his magic to speak with Tamahome, to let him in on their plans, so Miaka rushed off to get ready.  
Nikki excused herself from the table, and went to the room she would be staying in. Luckily, it was only a few doors down from Nuriko's room.  
Nikki dropped her bag, and flopped onto the bed. It was large and comfortable, And Nikki could stretch her arms out and not feel the edge of the bed. `I feel like I've died and gone to heaven!' she thought, `Well, in a way I guess I have, only I'm not dead. That makes it even better!'  
After she had settled in, meaning, she put her clean pants and shirts in a drawer, she left her room to explore the palace.  
  
Hotohori had said that the seishi could go freely anywhere in the palace, and Nikki liked to consider herself to be one of the seishi. She wandered down countless corridors, past dozens of doors.  
"This place is huge," she whispered to herself, "It'd be real easy to get lost!"  
"You get used to it after a while," a voice said from behind her. Nikki turned to see Nuriko leaning on the railing of the balcony, which encircled most of the upper floor.  
"Oh," Nikki said, leaning on the railing next to him, "I didn't think anyone would be here."  
Nuriko stood up. "If you want me to leave, I can--"  
"No!" Nikki said quickly, "No, I don't mind you staying," She mentally kicked herself for her momentary loss of composure.   
"So," Nuriko said, leaning his back against the rail, "What do you think of the palace?"  
"It's...big," Nikki answered. They stood quietly for a moment trying to think of something to talk about. "The stars are really bright," Nikki said finally. Nuriko nodded. Another moment of silence passed.  
"There's something about Chiriko; I don't trust him." Nikki blurted.  
"What?" Nuriko looked at her questioningly.  
"I don't know why I said that," Nikki shook her head, confused, "It was weird. It just popped into my head. Anyways, Miaka's going to find Tamahome, huh?" Nuriko nodded. "Well, I'm probably going to go to bed now," Nikki said.  
"If you need anything, my room is just down the hall," Nuriko reminded her, as if she could forget. "Goodnight," he said, and he leaned down to kiss her cheek. Nikki turned her head in surprise, and his lips fell directly onto hers.  
Nikki stood there in shock, and it wasn't until moments later that she realized Nuriko had left. She gripped the railing as tight as she could, because she figured if she let go she'd fall.  
  
Her legs had turned to rubber. She felt dizzy, and she couldn't breathe. She eventually gave up on trying to stand, dropped to her knees and leaned back against the railing. Sure, she'd kissed other guys before, many of them more intimately, but no-one had affected her like this before.  
She started grinning, for no reason other than she felt insanely happy. She had to place her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing out loud.  
She managed somehow to find her way back to her room through the maze of corridors, and lay down on the bed. Smiling, she closed her eyes and fell asleep, and slept well for the first time for as long as she could remember.  
The next morning, Nuriko knocked on Miaka's door. There was no answer, so he walked in. Miaka was still sleeping. Nuriko sat down on the edge of her bed.  
"Miaka," he said. There was no response. "Miaka," he said, louder. She didn't even move. "Oh, look!" he exclaimed, "So much food!" Miaka sat bolt upright in bed. "I figured that would wake you," he chuckled, "I came here to wish you luck for tonight."  
He reached over and placed his hand on top of hers. Miaka thanked him, and gave him a hug.  
Nikki opened the door to find Nuriko and Miaka embracing, on the bed. She stared in disbelief for a moment, then shook her head to clear the thought. She knocked on the door. "Good morning!" she said cheerily.  
Nuriko spun around, pulling away from Miaka with a guilty look.  
"Miaka, Hotohori asked to see you," Nikki tried her hardest to appear indifferent, but Nuriko must have sensed something. He decided to wait until Miaka left before he said anything.  
"It's not what you think," he said apologetically.  
Nikki crossed her arms and turned her back to him. "It's none of my business, I don't care what you were doing."  
  



	10. Chapter Ten

Her voice was quiet; Nuriko could tell she was upset. "You're lying," he said, "You do care, because you're in love with me. You told me yourself."  
She turned to face him. "And you told me that you're gay, so none of this really matters, does it?" Nuriko could see the pain in Nikki's eyes.  
"Now, if you'll excuse me," she continued, "I have something to discuss with...somebody," She stepped towards the door as quickly as possible, but not before Nuriko caught her by the arm, nearly pulling her off her feet.  
"You're not going until you tell me the truth." he said.   
"Fine, Mr. Smartie..." Nikki looked down at what Nuriko was wearing, "...Dress! Tell me what it is you want to hear."  
"That you're jealous,"  
"What?" Nikki exclaimed, yanking her arm out of Nuriko's grasp, "Why on earth would I have any reason to be jealous? It's not like we're together or anything," It killed Nikki to have to talk this way, especially to Nuriko, but she would never let her weakness show.  
"Still," Nuriko said softly, "I know how it feels to watch someone you love fall in love with someone else,"  
Nikki stepped back in horror. "You...and Miaka...?"  
"No!" Nuriko cried, "Me and Hotohori-sama! Look," he said, calming down, "I'm trying to say I know how you feel,"  
Nikki shook her head sadly. "No-one knows how I feel," she said.  
Nuriko placed his hands on Nikki's shoulders and pulled her to his chest, resting his head on top of hers. "Then tell me how you feel," he said.  
Nikki closed her eyes and buried her face in Nuriko's chest, simply enjoying the fact that he was so close. Throughout her life, Nikki had worked so hard to hide her emotions, that she now fought to find some way of expressing them.  
"I don't know anymore," she said weakly, "I just feel...you."  
  
Nuriko pulled his head back to look at Nikki's face.  
"God," she said, "That sounds so stupid!"  
"Not really," Nuriko said, smiling.  
Embarrassed, Nikki looked down at the floor. "Look, let's not, and I'll just go,"  
Nuriko placed two fingers under her chin, and raised her face to his. Gently, he pressed his lips to hers.  
It felt as though an electric shock ran through her body. Nikki felt her knees buckle, so she grabbed Nuriko's shoulders for support. He placed his hands on her waist to steady her, all the while deepening the kiss.  
Nikki felt as if the palace and everything in it had faded away, and all that was left was her and Nuriko. `Please,' she prayed, `Let this last for just a little longer,'  
Slowly, Nuriko pulled away. Nikki's head was spinning, and she fought to keep her composure.  
"So," she said after a moment, "I guess this means you're over that whole gay thing,"  
"Well, I wouldn't say that," Nuriko responded, "But you're the first girl I've ever felt something for,"  
Nikki smiled. "I can live with that," she said.  
Later that night, the seishi gathered to see Miaka and Chichiri off. Tasuki decided at the last minute that he would go too, so everyone else wished them luck. The seishi watched as the three of them magically disappeared into Chichiri's cape.   
Nikki stared at the empty spot where her friends had stood only moments before. "Be careful," she whispered.  
Nikki felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see Nuriko beside her.  
"Are you alright?" he asked.  
Nikki shook her head. "Something's not right," she answered, "I don't know what, but something's just not right."  
  
Hours passed, with no sign of Miaka's return. Nuriko grew anxious. "Something's wrong, they're late!" he said.  
"Calm down," Nikki cautioned him, glancing at Hotohori, "He's upset enough already."  
Chiriko took out his flute and began playing a soothing melody. Nuriko turned on him. "How can you be playing that thing at a time like this?" he screamed.  
"I'm trying to comfort the Emperor," the boy retorted. The two then launched into a heated argument over who should comfort Hotohori.  
Mitsukake turned to Hotohori and said, "Emperor, it seems you're quite popular with the guys," Hotohori buried his face in his hands.  
Nikki waited a moment before moving in to break up the argument between Nuriko and Chiriko. Nuriko had grabbed the flute and was holding it up out of the smaller boy's reach. "Alright, break it up," she said, "Nuriko, give me the flute." Nuriko reluctantly did as he was told. "Here," Nikki said, giving the flute back to Chiriko, "I think it would be best if you didn't play it for a while," The boy agreed, and quickly left the room, followed by Mitsukake.  
Nikki sighed and leaned against the wall. All of a sudden, she felt as if someone had kicked her in the stomach, hard. She doubled over in pain. Hotohori and Nuriko were immediately at her side.  
"What's wrong?" Hotohori asked, "Are you alright?"  
"Yes, I'm perfectly fine!" Nikki said sarcastically. As quickly as it had come, the pain disappeared.  
Nikki fell to her knees at the realization of what had just happened. "Tasuki," she said, her voice trembling, "It was Tasuki! He's in pain. I...I felt his pain,"  
Nikki closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She stood and pulled Nuriko aside. "I was right," she said quietly, "There is something definitely wrong. Tasuki's hurt, but I don't know about Chichiri or Miaka. Don't say a word to Hotohori. Got that?" Nuriko nodded.  
  
Somehow, Nuriko managed to get Chiriko's flute back. Unfortunately, he didn't have the boy's talent for music, and the melody came out sounding more like fingernails on a chalkboard. Nuriko screamed in frustration.  
Chiriko and Mitsukake burst into the room. "What's the matter?" Chiriko asked, "It sounded like someone was choking the gay boy to death!"  
"Well forgive me for being gay!" Nuriko shot back. "Technically he's not gay," Nikki said, "He's a bisexual cross-dresser, and there's nothing wrong with that." Everyone turned to look at her questioningly.  
"Um, nothing. Oh, look, Mitsukake, your cat's floating!" she exclaimed. As she stated, Tama-neko was floating just above their heads.  
"That's new to me," Mitsukake said.  
Chichiri's voice seemed to come from the cat, and instructed Chiriko to use his flute to break the barrier that was holding him, Miaka and Tasuki in Kutou. Chichiri told the other seishi to put their chi into Chiriko's flute.  
As he played, Nikki closed her eyes and concentrated on the music. `If I have any chi, please let it help!' she thought.  
Soon, Miaka, Chichiri and Tasuki appeared. As Nikki had suspected, Tasuki was badly injured. She rushed to his side and took his hand into hers.  
"Tasuki, are you alright?" she asked, obviously concerned. She gently brushed his hair back from his face. It was matted with blood.  
"I'm fine. Now stop fussing over me," He swatted her hand away, then swore in pain from the movement.  
"Mitsukake!" Nikki called. She then stepped aside to give the doctor room to work.  
She glanced up to see Nuriko glaring at Tasuki. `So, I'm not the only one who's jealous,' she thought.  
Miaka told Hotohori how Tamahome had tried to kill them all. Nikki couldn't believe that a Suzaku seishi would turn on his own men. Especially if he was supposed to be in love with Miaka.  
  
After Miaka and Tasuki were settled in their rooms, the other seishi and Nikki knelt before Hotohori. Mitsukake explained that Tamahome was being controlled by drugs. Nakago had somehow brainwashed him into attacking the Suzaku seishi.  
"Even I have no power against those drugs." he said sadly. He went to heal Miaka, whose arm was broken.  
Nikki told Nuriko she was going for a walk around the palace to clear her head, but really she went to check on Tasuki.  
"How are you feeling?" she asked, sitting beside Tasuki on the bed.  
"Didn't I tell ya to leave me alone?" he asked, "That's why I hate women. They're always fussing over you!"  
Nikki gently brushed some of the dried blood off his face. "Well," Nikki suggested, "If you hate women that much, why don't you go talk to Nuriko?"  
Tasuki glared at her while she doubled over in fits of laughter. Luckily, Mitsukake soon came in, so Tasuki was spared from more teasing.  
Nikki stepped into the hallway just as Hotohori, Chichiri and Nuriko passed by on their way to see Miaka. Nuriko eyed Nikki suspiciously.  
`Busted,' she thought.  
Chiriko was sitting beside Miaka's bed playing his flute when the others entered. He quickly surrendered his position to Hotohori, who asked Miaka how she was feeling. She responded cheerily, saying how Mitsukake had fully healed her arm.  
"That's not what I meant," Hotohori said, implying how she felt about leaving Tamahome.  
"I'm fine!" Miaka insisted.  
"You don't have to lie for our sake," Nuriko said. Miaka couldn't handle the emotional strain anymore. "Just leave me alone!" she yelled at the seishi, "I want to be alone!"  
Hotohori left, hurt that he couldn't ease Miaka's pain. The others followed except for Nikki.  
"Speaking from personal experience," she said quietly, "It's not always good to be alone. Just remember, we're all here for you, if you need anything," Nikki knew that her words wouldn't change Miaka's feelings right away, but she had to try.  



	11. Chapter Eleven

That evening, Nuriko and Nikki brought Miaka her dinner. They each carried a tray full of food, hoping it would help Miaka get back to her old self.  
Nuriko looked out at the sky and complained about the stormy weather.  
"You know," Nikki said, trying to lighten the mood, "I've noticed that in almost every show on TV, whenever it rains, something really bad happens. I mean, how realistic is that?"  
Nuriko knocked on Miaka's door and went in. Miaka wasn't there. Nuriko dropped his tray and ran from the room. Nikki turned to set her tray on the table beside the door.  
As she looked down, she noticed a small note on the table beside her hand. She unfolded it, and racked her brain to figure out what the Japanese characters said. After a moment, it came to her. They spelled the word `goodbye'.  
"Damn, I hate it when I'm right," she muttered to herself, then ran after Nuriko. Common sense more than instinct told her to head towards Hotohori's room.  
Nikki ran faster than she'd ever run before, and was able to get there only moments after Nuriko. She showed Hotohori the note. He quickly left the room to search for Miaka.  
Nikki closed her eyes and tried to imagine where she could have gone. "Hotohori!" she called, "The pond! Check by the pond!" Nikki prayed that her instincts were correct.  
"We should look for her too," Nuriko said.  
Nikki nodded. "I'll notify the others." she said.  
They arrived at the pond to find that Hotohori had dived in to save Miaka, and neither had surfaced yet.  
A few tense moments passed until suddenly, from the centre of the pond, came a bright red light. Nikki shielded her eyes.   
`I've seen this before,' she thought, `Back at the library! The same light came from that old book!'  
From the light, Hotohori appeared, holding Miaka. The others rushed to Miaka's side, concerned for her safety. Hotohori assured them that she would be alright, and took her inside.  
  
Nikki was relieved to know that Miaka was okay. Without knowing, she had begun to see the girl as a kind of little sister. She considered all the seishi to be the family she'd never had growing up.  
As they walked to Tasuki's room to let him in on what happened, Nikki looked up at Nuriko.  
`Okay,' she thought, `Then that would make Nuriko my big brother, or sister, or...this is not right.' She placed her hand over her face and shook her head. `My life is turning into a V. C. Andrews novel!'  
On their way to Tasuki's room, they had to pass Hotohori's chamber. "I think I'll check in on Miaka," Nuriko said.  
Nikki opened the door first. All she saw was Miaka, naked, and Hotohori making out on the bed. Feeling her face turn red, Nikki quickly turned and closed the door behind her.  
"Um," she stammered, blocking Nuriko from getting near the door, "I just remembered that Miaka said that she had something to discuss with Hotohori-sama. I think we had better let them...discuss." Nikki grabbed Nuriko's arm and pulled him down the hall.  
While the others talked, Nuriko stood staring out of Tasuki's window, daydreaming about the wonderfulness of Hotohori. Unfortunately, he was speaking out loud, earning him a smack in the head from Nikki.  
"Well," Chiriko continued, "If Tamahome doesn't come back, we won't be able to call Suzaku."  
Nikki turned towards the boy. "Tamahome?" she asked.   
Chiriko nodded, with a slightly confused look on his face.   
"Come back," Nikki continued, more than slightly confused herself, as something about those words clicked in the back of her mind. Her eyes widened, "Oh my God! He's here. Tamahome's here!"  
The other seishi gave her weird looks. Mitsukake placed a hand on her forehead to feel her temperature.  
She swatted him away and looked to Nuriko, who was probably the only one who would believe her. "Tamahome's here." she repeated.  
  
Outside Tasuki's room, the seishi heard footsteps running down the hall. Nikki stepped out to see what was going on. A soldier ran past, nearly knocking her over.  
"What's going on?" she asked. He pretended not to hear her, and kept running.  
Nuriko, however, was not so happy with his treatment of Nikki, so he grabbed the back of the soldier's armour and lifted him off the ground. "Now," he said, "I believe the young lady asked you a question,"  
"Tama...Tamahome-san has returned," the soldier stammered, "He says...he has to kill...Suzaku-no-miko." Nuriko dropped the soldier, who quickly continued on his way. The seishi turned to Nikki, amazed that she knew.  
"What can I say," she said smugly, "I got the power!" More seriously, she continued, "We have to stop Tamahome from getting to Miaka. Who's with me?" Each seishi raised his hand, except Nuriko.  
"I'll help Miaka, but you're staying here." he said.  
"No, I'm not," Nikki said over her shoulder as she helped Tasuki to his feet, "I'm going to help whether you like it or not. Not only did Tamahome beat the crap out of Tasuki, but he hurt Miaka as well. That puts him on my shit list."  
"Yeah!" Tasuki agreed. Nuriko glared at him, warning him not to say another word.  
"Look," Nikki continued, "I know you just don't want me to get hurt, and that Tamahome's way stronger than me, and from what I hear, could probably crush my skull with one hand,"  
Nuriko looked at her in horror.  
"But I can take care of myself." Nikki assured him. She put her arm around Tasuki's waist, and helped him walk towards the door. Nuriko had no choice but to follow.  
They entered the palace courtyard to see Tamahome waiting for them, alone.  
  
Nuriko stepped in front of Nikki, ready to protect her. Tamahome just stood there, glaring at the seishi.  
`This is not going to be pretty,' Nikki thought, `All this rain seems appropriate, though; it certainly sets the mood,'  
Before anyone could make a move, Hotohori came down the stairs to the courtyard. He held his sword in his hand, and glared at Tamahome. He seemed to glow red, which Nikki assumed was the power of Suzaku. He came to the bottom of the stairs, and threw a sword at Tamahome's feet before drawing his own. Tamahome picked up the sword, and the two men faced each other.   
Luckily, Miaka was nowhere nearby, so Nikki called out "C'mon Hotohori, kill him!"  
Chichiri turned to her, aghast. "How could you say such a thing, no da?"  
"Hey," Nikki shrugged, "He's your friend, not mine," `Especially not after what he did to Tasuki and Miaka,' she thought.  
The crash of metal upon metal echoed throughout the courtyard. Tamahome and Hotohori fought fiercely, and Nikki knew that it would be a battle to the death.  
"Shouldn't we do something?" Chiriko asked.  
"No," Nuriko replied sadly, "All we can do is let them go at it."  
Tamahome leaped into the air, ready to strike Hotohori.  
At that exact moment, Miaka came running. "Don't!" she screamed.  
Tamahome hesitated for only a second. But, it was too late. Hotohori had raised his sword to block Tamahome's attack, and Tamahome fell onto it. Hotohori seemed as shocked as Tamahome, as he slipped off the blade to land on his back.  
"Tamahome!" Miaka cried.  
  
Hotohori dropped his sword. The seishi stared in shock, including Nikki, who only felt sorry for Miaka. She couldn't have cared less what happened to Tamahome, but Miaka was upset, to say the least.  
Miaka ran to where Tamahome lay, and knelt by his side. Tamahome looked up at her, and slowly his hand reached out for the sword that lay beside him. Seeing what he was reaching for, Miaka grabbed the sword and placed it into his hands. "Please," she begged, on the verge of tears, "If it will make you the way you were before, then kill me!" She leaned down and kissed him, as he raised the sword over her.  
Nuriko took a step forward, but Hotohori stopped him. `He's just going to let this happen?' Nikki wondered.  
Luckily, Hotohori's judgement proved right. Something about Miaka's kiss reawakened a part of Tamahome, the part that Nakago had tried to take away, and he dropped the sword. The sign of the ogre began to shine brightly from his forehead.  
Suddenly, an old song popped into Nikki's head. "Hey, Miaka, your boyfriend's back and we're gonna be in trouble...okay, I'll stop singing now."  
Tamahome smiled as he looked up at Miaka. "I promised..." he said weakly, "When the moon was straight up...I was late...sorry..."  
By now, Miaka was crying. "No, you made it." she said, "Just now, it's straight up!"  
Nikki felt tears come to her eyes. She looked to Nuriko, and saw that his shoulders were shaking. `He must be crying,' she thought. She moved to his side, and placed her hand on his shoulder.  
Unfortunately, she forgot that she was supposed to be supporting Tasuki in his weakened condition, and he toppled to the ground.  
Mitsukake, knowing that Tamahome didn't have much time left, healed his wound. The other seishi rushed to Tamahome's side, glad to have him back.  
Nikki and Tasuki, however, remained where they were. "I'm not going over there," Tasuki said.  
"Nope," Nikki agreed. She helped Tasuki to his feet, and they waited impatiently for the little reunion to end.  



	12. Chapter Twelve

After Mitsukake healed him, and he was properly rested, Tamahome returned to Kutou. Since Nakago believed that he was still under his power, Tamahome figured that he would have no problem getting the Universe of the Four Gods back. Chichiri used his powers to place a protective barrier around Tamahome, just in case. He returned soon, with the book.  
While the other seishi spent most of the night talking, and Miaka and Tamahome went to the pond to talk, Nikki just wandered around the palace. She wanted to find somewhere she could think alone, but everywhere she went there were guards or servants.  
Finally, a crazy idea came to her. When she was sure that there was no-one watching, Nikki stepped up on the railing of the balcony. With one hand on the pole beside her, she looked down. `Fifteen, maybe twenty feet,' she thought, `Not enough to kill you, but it would definitely hurt. Let's hope this works!' Nikki closed her eyes and took a deep breath, steadying herself on the rail. She looked up, to where the overhang of the roof was only a few feet above her head. There was a piece of wood that came down a few inches from the edge, just enough to make a decent handhold.  
Nikki nodded to herself and jumped for it. She made it, barely, and hung there for a moment before she was able to swing herself up and onto the roof.  
The night was cool, but the storm clouds had passed and the sky was clear. Nikki lay on her back, gazing up at the stars.  
She must have stayed up there for a while, because the next thing she knew, she could hear Nuriko calling her name. He sounded worried.  
Nikki poked her head down over the edge of the roof. "Hey, you looking for me?" she asked.  
"What the hell are you doing up there?" Nuriko cried, "You're going to fall and kill yourself!"  
  
Nikki grabbed the edge of the roof and swung down, and jumped back onto the balcony. Nuriko grabbed her by the shoulders. "What were you thinking? You can get hurt doing that, you know."  
"I'm fine," Nikki insisted, "I just wanted to think. Besides, I don't want to risk running into Tamahome."  
"Why, do you have a bad feeling about him, too?" Nuriko asked.  
"No, I just don't like him." Nikki said, frowning, "He beat the crap out of Tasuki, broke Miaka's arm, and then came here and tried to kill us. And everyone expects me to be okay with this?"   
"Tasuki, Tasuki, that's all I ever hear from you! Do you ever talk about something other than Tasuki?"  
"Of course I do," Nikki said defensively, "I'm sorry, I have been fussing over Tasuki lately. It's just that he's hurt, and he's Koji's friend. Koji saved my life when I first came to this world, and I promised him that I'd look after Tasuki. Besides that, he's like a brother to me." Nikki placed her hand on Nuriko's cheek. "Everybody knows how I feel about you," she whispered as she gently kissed his lips.  
She turned to walk away, saying over her shoulder, "I just wish they all knew how you feel about me. I wish I knew how you feel about me."  
The next morning at breakfast, Nikki spent the entire time glaring at Tamahome from across the table. Tasuki, who was sitting next to him, did the same.  
Finally, Tamahome asked, "What is with you? You could at least introduce yourself the first time you meet someone,"  
"First time?" Tasuki screamed, "Don't you remember the last time we met?"  
Apparently, Tamahome didn't remember that much, and they started arguing, loudly.  
Nuriko took advantage of the distraction, and leaned towards Miaka. "Hey Miaka," he asked, "When you call Suzaku, you get your wishes granted, right? Could you ask him to make me a woman?"  
  
Nikki nearly choked on her rice.  
"Why?" Miaka asked, surprised.  
"So that I could comfort Hotohori-sama, of course!" Nuriko answered, obviously daydreaming.  
Nikki's face fell. Quietly, she excused herself from the table. She ran straight to her room, and locked the door behind her. She leaned her back against the door, and slowly slid to the ground. Tears streamed down her face.  
`Well, I wanted to know how Nuriko felt about me,' Nikki thought, `He still loves Hotohori. How could I have been such an idiot? He'd never think of me that way.' Nikki buried her head in her arms.  
Nuriko knocked on the door. "Are you alright?" he asked.   
Nikki frantically wiped the tears from her eyes and tried to steady her voice. "I'm fine," she replied.  
"Well, can I come in?"  
Nikki unlocked the door and let Nuriko in. They stood silently staring at each other for a while.  
Finally, Nikki said, "Why can't you see it?"  
"What?" Nuriko asked.  
"Hotohori doesn't love you. I do. Why do you still want to waste your time with him?" Nikki crossed her arms and looked away from him, trying not to cry.  
Nuriko sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you--"  
"Well you did," Nikki said, her tears threatening to fall. Nuriko moved to hug her, but Nikki turned from him. "I won't play games, Nuriko," He looked at her, confused and hurt. "If you can't return my feelings, then I think you should just leave."  
Nuriko wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair. "I'm not going anywhere," he whispered.  
Nikki was overcome with relief and joy. She tilted her head back so she could see his face. "So you love me?" she asked. Nuriko smiled and nodded. Nikki smiled back. "Prove it," she said, as she turned and wrapped her arms around his neck.  
  
Preparations for the ceremony to call Suzaku were underway. Miaka had gone to get dressed, and the other seishi were gathered in Suzaku's hall. Nuriko and Nikki were the last to arrive.   
As they came in, Tasuki looked at them suspiciously. "And where were you two?" he asked.   
"We were...discussing something." Nikki answered.   
Tasuki noticed that Nuriko's hair was a mess, and Nikki's face had turned bright red. "Sure, sure," he said.   
"Well, you seem to be back to your old, annoying self," Nikki stated. Mitsukake must have healed him while she and Nuriko were gone.   
Miaka arrived, and the ceremony was about to start. Since Nikki wasn't actually a seishi, she had to remain outside. "Good luck!" she called. The doors were shut, and the ceremony began. Nikki sat staring at the closed doors until she thought she would die of boredom. She hummed to herself for a while, but eventually gave up and resumed staring at the doors.   
Suddenly, Nikki heard Miaka scream. Something wasn't right. She forced the doors open. Nikki soon realized what was wrong.   
Chiriko was playing his flute, but instead of being soothing, each note felt like it was drilling into her head. Nikki covered her ears, but it didn't help.   
`Why is he doing this?' she thought.   
For a moment, Chiriko stopped playing. "If you haven't guessed by now," he said, "I am the Seiryuu seishi Amiboshi. I have been putting my chi into you all along, through my melodies. Now, I will destroy you all."   
Tasuki pulled out his tessen. "Take this!" he yelled. Flames shot out and hit Amiboshi on his right shoulder, showing his seishi symbol.   
Amiboshi just smirked, and began playing again. His flute began to glow blue. This time, the music hurt even worse. The seishi cried out in pain.   
Nikki didn't think she could stand it much longer. She started inching her way towards Amiboshi, but just before she could reach him, the pain forced her to her knees. `He's going to kill them!' she thought, `I can't get any closer, my head's going to explode!'  
  
Just when the seishi thought that they couldn't take it anymore, another melody started playing from somewhere else. The notes disrupted Amiboshi's tune, and the seishi were freed from his power.   
Tasuki and Tamahome were immediately on their feet. Amiboshi knew he was in trouble. He ran from the hall, knocking down the guards at the door. Tasuki and Tamahome gave chase. Nikki was close behind them, followed by Miaka and Chichiri.   
Because of their seishi powers, Amiboshi, Tasuki and Tamahome were able to leap from rooftop to rooftop, while Nikki followed on the ground.   
She lost Miaka and Chichiri by the palace gate, but was able to keep track of the others. She pushed her way through crowds, and ran faster than ever before. Not once did she lose sight of Amiboshi.   
Eventually, he reached the river, which was running faster than usual because of the recent rain. There was no way across.   
Nikki got there only moments after Tasuki and Tamahome. "How could you do this?" she asked Amiboshi, "We trusted you!"   
Before Tasuki or Tamahome could attack, Miaka appeared with Chichiri.   
Amiboshi leaped into the air, ready to strike Miaka. Tamahome blocked him, taking the blow instead. Amiboshi seemed to remain suspended in the air.   
"Chiriko," Miaka said, "Your music is so beautiful. You can use it to cheer and comfort people. Why do you want to use it for cruelty?"   
Amiboshi's expression softened. As he landed, he stepped too close to the edge of the river, and the wall crumbled beneath him. He fell, but Miaka and Nikki rushed forwards and were able to grab hold of his flute, which he still held tightly.   
Even though both girls held him, he began to slip. "Honey, give me your other hand," Nikki pleaded, "I can't hold you!"   
Amiboshi smiled up at Miaka, then let go of the flute. The current quickly pulled him under.   
"Chiriko!" Miaka screamed. Nikki and Tamahome pulled her away from the river. She still held the boy's flute.  
  
They returned to the hall of Suzaku to tell the others. Everyone was saddened by the news.   
Everyone, that is, except Tasuki, who argued, "I'm glad he's dead! He deserved it!"   
"No," Miaka said, "A bad person could never have played such beautiful music."   
"Look, Tasuki," Nikki said, "I never completely trusted him, but he was still our friend. No-one deserves to die." Surprisingly, Nikki wasn't that upset about what happened. It happened so suddenly, it didn't really seem like Amiboshi was dead.   
From behind them, a young boy appeared. Nikki guessed his age to be about thirteen. He held a leaf to his lips, and used it to play the tune that had interrupted Amiboshi's chi.   
"A kid saved us?" Nikki asked, amazed.   
"I'm Chiriko," he said, showing the symbol on his foot, "I would have come sooner, but I was studying for the government exam. I came here because I saw misfortune in the stars."  
`Okay,' Nikki thought, `Einstein here is starting to creep me out,'   
Miaka was overjoyed. "We have all seven seishi. It might not be too late to do the ceremony!" Everyone turned to the large fire in the centre of the room. "Alright everyone, pray!" Miaka said.   
Everybody did as they were told, including Nikki. `Please work, please work, please work!' she repeated.   
A minute passed. Nothing happened.   
"Nothing came," Miaka said quietly.   
Suddenly, an old woman's face appeared in the flames. The seishi screamed and jumped back, except for Nikki.   
"Did I miss something?" she asked.   
"Taiitsu-kun!" Miaka said.  
`I would've guessed Yoda's girlfriend, but whatever,' Nikki thought.   
Taiitsu-kun said to Miaka, "The ceremony failed. Since you threw the Universe of the Four Gods into the fire already, it's too late. You were foolish."   
  
  



	13. Chapter Thirteen

"Hey, you don't have to be so hard on her, you old bag!" Tamahome said, standing next to Miaka.   
"No," Miaka cried, "She's right. Think of everyone who got hurt so that we could call Suzaku. Yui-chan did. Shoka-san did. Amiboshi did. So did Hotohori, and Tamahome, and Nuriko, and Tasuki, and Mitsukake, and Chichiri, and Nikki, too. But I wasn't able to fulfil my duties as Suzaku-no-miko. Now we'll never be able to call Suzaku." Miaka was on the verge of tears.  
"There is another way," Taiitsu-kun said, "It will be more difficult than anything before. Are you ready?" Miaka nodded. "You must go to the country of Hokkan in the North, which is protected by Genbu. Once there, you must find the shinzaho, an object dedicated to Genbu."   
"I'll go." Miaka replied.   
"Very well. Take these, they will increase your powers." Taiitsu-kun closed her eyes, and a small, glowing orb appeared to each of the seishi.   
Inside each orb was a small gift. Hotohori received a sword, Tasuki's tessen was turned to diamond, Chiriko received a scroll, Mitsukake got a small jar of medicine, Chichiri got beads for his necklace, Nuriko received two bracelets, and Nikki received a small crystal pendant.   
"What's for me?" Tamahome asked.   
"Nothing. The `old bag's presents can't go to somebody who'd just sell them," Taiitsu-kun replied. Tamahome felt bad.   
"Taiitsu-kun," Nikki said, "Why do I get a gift? I'm not a seishi,"   
"Even though you are not a Suzaku seishi, you have fought hard to protect the Miko. This is your reward. Also, I will strengthen your natural abilities."   
Nikki thanked her, and bowed respectfully.   
"I like this girl," Taiitsu-kun said, "Tamahome, why can't you be more like her?" Tamahome was too busy trying to steal Mitsukake's jar to hear.  
  
"Oh, Miaka," Taiitsu-kun said, "One more thing. Close your eyes." Miaka did as the old woman instructed. Taiitsu-kun sprinkled the ashes from the Universe of the Four Gods over Miaka. "This will strengthen your own abilities."  
"Well, then I guess we're going to Hokkan," Miaka said.   
"I'll go, too," Tasuki said.  
"It'd be dangerous to let Miaka go without me," Nuriko answered.  
"I'm not letting Nuriko go without me," Nikki said.  
"Then I guess we're all going." Tamahome said, placing a hand on Miaka's shoulder.  
"Before you leave, I want to speak with Miaka, alone." Taiitsu-kun said. Everyone else waited outside, and the doors were shut behind them.  
Tamahome was still complaining that he was the only one who didn't get a gift. "How come Nikki got one? She's not a seishi. She just follows us around."  
"Do you want me to kick your ass?" Nikki asked. Tamahome moved on to start a fight with Tasuki.  
A few minutes later, Miaka came out. She tried to look cheerful, but something was bothering her. "Why don't we go back to the court?" she asked, "I'm a bit tired." Nikki didn't believe one word of it. But, not having anything better to do, she followed the others.  
After supper, Nikki took her daily walk around the palace. Eventually, she found herself out at the pond. She sat on a rock by the water's edge and watched the sunset. The colours reflected off the surface of the water, making everything around her seem to glow.  
"Chichiri said you'd be here," Nuriko said, sitting down beside her.  
"It's so beautiful, and calm," Nikki said, "There's nothing like this back home,"  
"Do you miss it?" Nuriko asked quietly. It was impossible for Nikki to read his expression in the dying light.  
"What?" she asked.  
"Your home."  
  
"Do you miss it?" he asked again, facing her. Nikki had never seen this look on his face before. He looked dead serious, and almost sad.  
"I never really had a home to miss," Nikki said, casually tossing a small stone into the pond. She sighed. "Well, I guess you'd have to find out sooner or later, so I might as well tell you now." Nikki leaned back on her elbows, and launched into her life story.  
"My parents both died when I was young. I never really knew them. I grew up in a foster home in Los Angeles, but I hated it. They used to beat on me all the time. It got to the point where I knew that if I stayed there any longer, I was going to end up in hospital. I wasn't gonna let that happen, so I left. That was when I was twelve. I stayed in L.A., working odd jobs when I could, and if I couldn't afford food, I stole some. It was a tough life. Well, one day I swiped some guy's wallet, and inside there was a plane ticket to Japan. I figured I had nothing to lose, so I went. About a week later, I met up with Miaka, and you pretty much know the story from there."  
Nuriko didn't know what to say except, "I'm sorry,"  
"Don't feel sorry for me," Nikki said, "There are plenty of people who are worse off than me. Besides," She placed her hand over Nuriko's. "If I hadn't gone through all that, I never would have met you."  
On the other side of the pond, Tamahome and Tasuki had come looking for Nuriko. Unnoticed, they watched to see what would happen.  
Nikki leaned over and kissed Nuriko's cheek, then stood up to leave.  
"But what if I had been a real woman?" Nuriko asked, "All that would still have happened."  
"Nuriko, I would still love you," Nikki said, "Even if you were a woman."  
Nikki left, and Tasuki and Tamahome went over to join Nuriko. "It looks like Nuriko's not the only fruit here," Tamahome said jokingly. Nuriko punched him hard, sending him flying. Satisfied, he and Tasuki returned to the palace.  
  
"Hey, Nikki, there's a Star-Watching festival tonight, wanna come?" It was the next morning, and Nikki, Nuriko and Tasuki were on their way back from breakfast.  
Tasuki elbowed Nikki, saying, "Ooh, I think Nuriko's asking you out!"  
Nikki gave Tasuki a dirty look. "Sure, I'll be there," she answered.  
"Good morning, Miaka!" Nuriko called.  
"Good morning!" she replied.  
"Miaka, there's a festival tonight. Why don't you join us?" Nikki asked.  
"Sure, that sounds like fun." Miaka said enthusiastically. When Tamahome appeared in the hallway, her mood suddenly changed. Cooly, she brushed past him. "Tamahome, there's a festival tonight. You should come." she said.  
`Whoa, she just majorly brushed him off!' Nikki thought, `I wonder what happened. Maybe it has something to do with what Taiitsu-kun said to her yesterday.'  
"You know what, I've got stuff to do, so I'll see you later." she said.  
Nikki returned to her room, grabbed her bag, and slipped out the palace gates into the city. She vaguely remembered the way to the marketplace, and soon enough found herself in the large, open square. It was crowded and noisy, and Nikki could almost imagine that she was back in L.A.  
She wandered around for a while, looking at all the things that were for sale. She stopped at one table, which was covered with beautiful necklaces, bracelets, and all sorts of jewellery. She picked up a pair of tiny, delicate seashell earrings. Next to the earrings lay a beautifully carved dagger. She paid the man for both items, and moved on. Nothing else really grabbed her attention, so she headed back to the palace.  
  
She knew Nuriko would be waiting for her when she got back, so when she opened her door and saw him pacing back and forth in her room, she wasn't surprised.  
"Where were you?" he asked.  
"Out." Nikki said, shrugging. The look on Nuriko's face told her that wasn't a good enough answer. "I told you I had stuff to do. I went shopping."  
"You went into the city by yourself?" Nuriko screamed, "Do you know how dangerous that is? You have no idea what kinds of people are out there."  
Nikki raised her hand. "Um, hello? Grew up in L.A. This is like hick-town to me."  
Nuriko crossed his arms and considered this for a moment. "It's still dangerous for you to go out by yourself," he said, "Until we leave for Hokkan, I don't want you to leave the palace unless one of the seishi is with you."  
"So you're grounding me?" Nikki asked, getting slightly annoyed.  
"If that's what it takes to keep you safe," he answered.  
Nikki found it impossible to be mad at him anymore. She ran forward and threw herself into his arms. "I'm sorry," she said, "I won't make you worry anymore. I promise."  
Nikki remembered her purchases. "Oh, yeah," she said, digging through her pockets, "I got you these," She held out her hand, and dropped the seashell earings into his.  
"Oh, they're beautiful!" Nuriko exclaimed.  
"I figured you'd like 'em," Nikki said, "I was actually debating whether I should just keep them, they're so pretty." She stopped to think about what she was saying. "Okay, you know it's scary when you have the same taste in jewellery as your boyfriend," Nikki shook her head. "Well, I guess you could wear them to the festival tonight," she suggested.  
Nuriko gave Nikki a quick peck on the cheek, before she kicked him out so that she could change.  
  



End file.
